CHILDREN'S VACCINATIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS IN THE BODY

Children's Vaccinations And Their Effects In The Body



Children's Vaccinations And Their Effects In The Body

Much controversy surrounds the mass use of vaccinations in America today. Our children are the most highly vaccinated children in the world and are given 49 doses of 14 vaccines before the age of 6. On one side of the debate are the Cgoes into for infection command and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) who maintain that the United States has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history and that anything less than universal protection of children by the routine use of vaccinations is a travesty of health care. On the other hand, opponents of vaccination have noticed what appears to be a connection between serious adverse health effects, including death, and vaccines. “adversaries also point to clues that edge consequences of vaccinations are actually far more grave and widespread, influencing far more persons than vaccine manufacturers like to accept, and conclude that the negligible advantages of vaccination to humanity do not outweigh the many dangers for each individual.” (Cage, 2004) This paper examines a brief annals of vaccines, what vaccines are, how they sway our immune system, the key components and the inherent risks.

The idea of immunity and preventing or reducing disease dates as far back as fifth century B.C.E. “In the fifth years B.C.E. the notion of immunity first appears in historical medical records. At that time, the Greek historian Thucydides took note that during a plague in Greece that eliminated nearly one fourth of the population, some people who were exposed escaped infection, while others became ill and recovered, never again to be infected by that disease.” (Romm, 2001) Historical evidence describes the first inoculation attempts against the disease smallpox by the Chinese in sixth century B.C.E. by putting the powdered scabs from contaminated children into the noses of healthy children. “The Golden Mirror of Medicine, an ancient Chinese medical text, describes four forms of inoculation against small pox: the nose is plugged with powdered scabs laid on wool, powdered scabs are blown into the nose, undergarments of an infected child are put on a healthy child for several days, and a piece of cotton is spread with the contents of an infected pustule and stuffed into the nose.” (Romm, 2001)

Presumably, by way of slave ships and Spanish conquistadores smallpox made its way to Europe and America and thrived in the unclean, overcrowded cities and towns. During this period, Edward Jenner's work began to unfold. Jenner (1749-1823), an English physician, often considered the “father of vaccinations,” (Cave & Mitchell, 2001) clearly did not invent the process of inoculation but he did make the first to attempt to organize the practice of inoculation (Romm, 2001). Jenner discovered that inoculating people with the animal disease cowpox made them immune to the disease smallpox. In 1885, Louis Pasteur developed the first rabies vaccine for humans. “Pasteur found that a dwindled form of pullet ...