Professor Laurie Phillips
ENGL 1301-51009
18 November 2015
Plague of the Unknown: The Necessity of Vaccination in the Western World
Proposal
In this paper, I will attempt to answer the question “Why are vaccines essential to the health of western civilization?” Lately, multiple cases of preventable diseases like mumps, measles, and whooping cough have appeared in North America. These diseases were thought to have been eliminated by vaccines years ago. This prompts me to wonder about how vaccines protect our society’s health as a whole. Using primarily database articles from Academic Search Complete and Opposing Viewpoints, I will explore sub-topics such as these cases of preventable diseases and theories on how they returned, reasons why parents do not vaccinate, reasons why vaccinations are important, the validity of claims that vaccines cause autism, and risks involved from refusing vaccinations. I expect to discover that these diseases are appearing again due to the current movement of parents against vaccinations. Some theories have falsely claimed that vaccines can cause disabilities like autism. As a result, some parents refuse to have their children vaccinated, thereby exposing the population to these diseases previously thought to have been eliminated. My paper will attempt to prove how necessary vaccines are in protecting the health of our civilization as we know it.
Annotated Bibliography
Foxhall, Emily. "Vaccine Opponents Hold Firm." Los Angeles Times. 26 Jan. 2015: B.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. This article explains the reasons why some parents believe their children’s health is not going to improve by using vaccines. Parents that support the anti-vaccination movement say this is the time when parents have information available to make informed decisions related to their children’s health. Parents do not trust pharmaceutical companies, arguing that vaccines are not safe for every child that is immunized. The information contained in this article offers an insight that helps to understand parents’ fears against vaccines.
Haynes, Charles C. "Vaccines, Science and the Limits of Freedom." Salinas Californian. 11 Feb. 2015: A.2. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. In this article, the author explains that due to the recent outbreaks of preventable diseases, this is the time to eliminate personal belief exemptions and restrict the religious and philosophical ones. Haynes says that individual rights is a valuable element in American society. However, vaccination rights is a concept that puts both children and the public health in general at risk. This article supports the idea of limiting the vaccination exemptions, prioritizing the common good of the community.
Offit, Paul A. "The Anti-Vaccination Epidemic." Wall Street Journal. 25 Sep. 2014: A.21. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. Offit asserts that the recent outbreaks of “vaccine-preventable diseases” observed in California and New York are consequences of the anti-vaccination movement of highly educated parents who are making misinformed decisions. The author gives details of the increase of cases of whooping cough and mumps disease in the last six years. This article contains important quantitative data which shows the impact of having unvaccinated people.
Perry, MaryJo. "Let Parents Make Informed Choices." USA Today. 28 Jan. 2015: A.7. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. The co-director of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights argues in this article that because corporations cannot be accountable in court for the safety of vaccines, the restrictive laws imposing children’s immunizations violate people’s rights to decide what is best for them and their children. This article is an excellent source for the debate related to the limits between individual freedom and the common good.
Ruderfer, Daniel, and Leonard R. Krilov. “Vaccine-Preventable Outbreaks: Still with Us After All These Years.” Pediatric Annals. Apr. 2015: e76-e81. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. The authors of this article explain in detail recent outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis in the United States. In the article, detailed data is presented to explain the prevalence of these diseases and the factors that contribute to this phenomena. The data presented in this article can be used in the introduction of the research paper in order to grab the reader's attention.
Shapiro, Nina. "A Win for Vaccines, but Worries Remain." Wall Street Journal. 24 Jul. 2015: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. Dr. Shapiro, the director of pediatric otolaryngology at Mattel Children’s Hospital, explains in detail the process of exceptions for vaccination in California. In the process, the physician determines the legitimacy of medical exemption due to depressed immune system or to severe allergic reaction. However, the author argues that “antivaccination fear-mongers” will still find forms of avoiding this law, which will put at risk many people in the country. This article supports the argument of more restrictive vaccination laws.
Siegel, Marc. "Fear Measles, Not Vaccines." Wall Street Journal. 27 Jan. 2015: A.11. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. Dr. Siegel argues that diseases prevented by vaccines are more harmful to people than the use of vaccines. The author recalls the measles outbreak traced to the Disneyland Park in 2014. Dr. Siegel explains the characteristics that make measles a highly contagious disease and the importance of vaccination to prevent massive infection in the population. Siegel’s article contains important data related to the use of vaccination for the prevention of measles disease.
"Vaccine Hesitancy: A Growing Challenge for Immunization Programmes." Targeted News Service. 18 Aug. 2015: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. This article addresses the vaccination problems and the factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. The United Nations World Health Organization says vaccine hesitancy contributes to the immunization gap in countries. Therefore, strategies should be considered for the mitigation of this problem. This article offers relevant information from a reliable organization that identifies vaccine hesitancy as a concerning problem.
Weise, Elizabeth. "Whooping Cough Is on the Rise." Gannett News Service. 19 Jul. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. Weise’s article addresses the pertussis disease outbreak from a different perspective. The author argues that the rise in whooping cough may be explained by a deficiency in the vaccine developed in the 1990s. Weise explains that the changes made in the older version of the vaccine were motivated by “unproved and unscientific claims.” This article may explain an indirect effect of the anti-vaccination movement.
Welch, Matt, et al. "Should Vaccines Be Mandatory?" Reason. Apr. 2014: 18-26. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. This article synthesizes multiple points of views referring to whether vaccines should be mandatory for the American population and whether the U.S. government should have an active role in enforcing this mandate. The information presented in the article is useful for refuting a counterargument.
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