The Benefits of Vaccination

Emma Teceno

September 27, 2018



Vaccines are essential to maintaining good health. By receiving a vaccination, a person can become immune to possibly life-threatening illnesses.

The creation of vaccines has had an incredible effect on those who are exposed to them. Before vaccines were made a standard American procedure, diseases such as polio and rubella were common. The U.S. Center of Disease Control released that between 1964-1965, before vaccines were put in place, rubella affected “12 ½ million Americans, killed 2,000 babies, and caused 11,000 miscarriages.”

Since 2012, there have been 15 cases of rubella, and no cases of polio. Scientists have compared getting vaccines to wearing a seatbelt or a bike helmet because of the little effort needed to take advantage of its effectiveness.

In the medical community, vaccines are generally considered the best form of disease prevention available. Despite this, there are still those who do not fully understand vaccines and are wary of their effects. Some people claim that doctors lie about the safety of vaccines and that they are dangerous injections that can cause physical or mental illnesses.

In reality, vaccination is almost always harmless. Vaccines are used to stimulate a response that protects againsts future immune system attacks.

The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services reports that “vaccines will involve some discomfort and may cause pain, redness, or tenderness at the site of injection but this is minimal compared to the pain, discomfort, and trauma of the diseases these vaccines prevent.” They are only dangerous if someone has an extreme allergy or an autoimmune disease, such as HIV. Any dangerous reactions are uncommon, and scientists always extensively review vaccines before they are made a standard procedure.

Vaccinations are important to maintaining the health of everyone, not just the individual that receives them.

Because of allergies and other medical conditions, not everyone is able to receive vaccines, which makes them at risk for dangerous illnesses. Newborn babies also cannot receive injections of this kind until they are over a certain age and weight. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that “while some babies are too young to be protected by vaccination, others may not be able to receive certain vaccinations due to severe allergies, weakened immune systems from conditions like leukemia, or other reasons..”

However, with the help of herd immunity, those who are unable to be vaccinated are still relatively safe from disease. Herd immunity is the idea that when a large majority of the population is made immune, it prevents dangerous illnesses from spreading, even if not everybody is vaccinated. If only a few people vaccinate, those who are unable to will become susceptible to life-threatening diseases.

The HHS urges people that are able to become “fully immunized [and] help prevent the spread of these diseases to your friends and loved ones.”

Vaccines are, overall, the safest and most effective way to prevent illness. Receiving vaccinations is an important step in maintaining good health for you and those around you.


Works Cited

“Vaccines and Immunizations.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/index.html Accessed 28 September 2018

“Five Important Reasons to Vaccinate Your Child” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018

https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/for_parents/five_reasons/index.html Accessed 28 September 2018