Parents of young children have many decisions to make, and one of the most debated of those decisions is whether to vaccinate their children. From the first vaccination in 1796 to today, physicians and parents have discussed the positive and negative effects of vaccinating children against diseases that threaten their health. Those who oppose vaccinations mention receiving the disease after vaccinated, fear of autism, and serious side effects as reasons not to vaccinate children. However, research shows the benefits of vaccinating outweigh the potential risks of not doing so.
English physician Edward Jenner gave the first vaccination in 1796. Jenner’s new technique diminished the outbreak of smallpox, a disease that claimed the lives of millions throughout the centuries. While it transformed the prevention of disease, Jenner’s breakthrough did not immediately lead to vaccination becoming the standard. It was not until 1879 that Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux created a rabies vaccine. Almost 220 years later, vaccinations against more than thirty life-threatening diseases exist.

A vaccination is the injection or inhalation of a vaccine to prevent disease. Vaccines contain weakened or killed disease-causing antigens that stimulate the immune system, creating antibodies to prevent the disease. Prior to administration, vaccines undergo extensive review by doctors and other members of the scientific community. Through thorough testing most severe side effects disappear, which vaccine proponents believe result in the benefits outweighing possible side effects.

Health-related benefits of vaccinating young children include ridding individuals of vulnerabilities to diseases early in life. Childhood vaccinations in the United States prevent about ten and a half million cases of infectious illnesses and 33,000 deaths per year, according to the Pediatric Academic Society. While young and vulnerable, a child has a greater risk of receiving complications from diseases. Vaccinations cause humans to develop antibodies, which fight diseases, allowing the body to defeat possible illnesses. Societal benefits include preventing parents from using unpaid leave from work to take care of their ill children, fewer missed school days for children, and saving money spent on visiting the doctor. It has also been proven that people immunized against diseases pass their immunities onto their children, which results in a healthier and more disease-resistant society as a whole.

In addition to the health and societal benefits, vaccinations aid in subduing and sometimes eradicating disease. Before the development of the HIB vaccine in the 1980s, individuals reported 20,000 cases of HIB each year. Today, due to the vaccine, physicians treat fewer than 100 cases of HIB annually. Children can still receive the disease after getting the vaccination, however, they will have milder symptoms with less serious complications than an un-vaccinated child.

In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services governs vaccinations, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains the schedule by which children must receive vaccinations in order to attend public school. All fifty states require certain vaccinations for entry to public school. Requirements for a child entering kindergarten include vaccination against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and varicella. As of 2009, the national vaccination rate among school-aged children was 95.41%. Although extensive research exists proving the benefits of childhood vaccination, many subcultures oppose the practice. In forty-eight states, schools allow exemptions to vaccination policies because of religious beliefs. Mississippi and West Virginia, however, do not accept religious exemptions.

Despite the many known benefits of immunization, side effects of injected and inhaled vaccinations exist. Tenderness at the injection site, discomfort, swelling and fever are among the mild side effects of vaccinations. Vaccinations have triggered cases of several autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and lupus. Even more severe conditions, including autism and autism-spectrum disorder Asperger’s, may have a direct correlation in vaccinated children. Studies have shown the vaccine additive Thimerosal associates with the development of autism. In addition, between the years 1988 and 2009, 1,322 children suffered severe brain damage as a result of vaccinations. Doctors constantly look for ways to combine vaccines together so children can receive less shots overtime. Due to the combination of vaccines stronger side effects may occur, but even the severe side effects seem worth the risk, when compared to the number of deaths avoided by immunizations.

Despite the negative side effects linked to vaccinations, prevention of disease has resulted in a healthier society, less illness among school-aged children, and the reduction or eradication of many deadly diseases. As scientists continue to develop and physicians continue to administer more immunizations, children will become more resistant to diseases that threatened the lives of ancestors. Dr. Ryan Keller, a pediatric doctor in Florida, stated, “People are making decisions that have never seen the illnesses that vaccinations prevent. Children used to frequently die or be crippled of these diseases, we just see what good the vaccinations have done for us today”.