Vaccination has had many pugnacious opinions as a section of the health pundits question its need. The rise of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancer have thrown the spanner into the works as many people wonder if vaccination would really be of help in preventing such diseases in the future or if the rise in the diseases is as a result of the health process-vaccination. Health experts define vaccination, according to Plotkin (12284), as the process of administering antigenic material with a view to stimulating one's system to develop relevant adaptive immunity to the pathogen. In spite of the criticism, which I shall expound on in the course of the discussion, I hold the opinion that vaccination is indeed helpful and contributes to the high life expectancy in the developed countries. The support to vaccination is grounded on the types of vaccines, the arguments for vaccination, how a vaccine works in the body, and the arguments of vaccination.
Types of vaccines
Vaccines come in four types based on a one’s immune system’s response to germs, the technology used in the administration and the age of an individual to be vaccinated. There are four types of vaccines which have been developed based on the three factors. The first type of vaccine is the life-attenuated vaccines. These vaccines are intended to fight weak germs causing diseases in the body. The live-attenuated vaccines are used to protect against diseases such as measles, small pox, yellow fever, chickenpox, and shingles. Inactivated vaccines come second in the list of common vaccines. These vaccines involve the introduction of a killed version of the germ into the body.
However, the vaccines are not as strong as the live-attenuated vaccines hence one would need to take several doses over time. The inactivated vaccines protect against diseases such as polio, Hepatitis A, Rabies, and Flu. The third group of vaccines is the conjugate or the recombinant vaccines. These use specific pieces of germ such as a protein germ. The vaccine protects the body against Hepatitis B, Human papillomavirus, whooping cough, pneumococcal diseases and meningococcal diseases. Toxoid vaccines use harmful products or substances to create immunity in the parts of the germs causing disease and not on the germ itself. The vaccines are used to protect the body against tetanus and diphtheria (Cameron et al., 56).
How a vaccine works
Vaccination, as has been mentioned, is the process of introducing antigens in the immunity system. Despite the fact that the human body can naturally produce a million antibodies in a day, the first infection normally receives a slow reaction with the body taking days to produce antibodies. The implication of the delay would be a rapid spread of the infection which may lead to death. Vaccination, therefore, introduces antigens which are in a weakened form to help the immune system produce antibodies which break down and leaves the memory cells in the body. The memory cells would then produce antibodies at a faster rate the next time such an antigen is introduced into the body (Hobson-West 275-280).
The arguments for vaccination
According to Bonanni et al. (26946), there are many reasons why one ought to get vaccinated. One, vaccination prevents children from suffering the aftermath of diseases such as amputation of body limbs, hearing loss caused by diseases such as mumps and brain damage. Besides, vaccination undergoes a thorough review by scientists and other stakeholders making them safe and effective. Two, the vaccine-preventable diseases remain a threat with a high number of children being hospitalized every single day. Diseases such as mumps, though rare, can cause permanent hearing loss and other negative effects such as impotence. As long as these diseases remain a threat to the society, vaccination remains quite necessary.
Three, vaccination helps in boosting the herd immunity hence limiting the chances of infection among the non-vaccinated individuals. It should be noted that diseases such as a whooping cough can be easily transmitted and the body may not be able to rapidly produce antibodies. When the immune system takes too long to react to whooping cough's antigens, the victim can succumb to a condition that would otherwise have been prevented through vaccination. Four, health organizations responsible for the prevention and curing of diseases are in support of vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are all in support of vaccination and continuously work to ensure that all children with strong immunity systems are vaccinated. The only word of caution from the organizations is that a weak immune system can be collapsed by the introduction of antigens hence a child should be assessed before being vaccinated. Five, vaccination prevents the spread of disease among individuals. When one is vaccinated, the immune system fights infection as and when it hits the body lowering the chance of the disease being transmitted to others who may be too young to be vaccinated or have weak immune systems such as the cancer patients. Finally, vaccination lowers the cost that would be incurred in treating the vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccination can be paid by the government or by individuals. If one is vaccinated, he or she lowers the possibility of being infected by about 90%.
Arguments against vaccination
Vaccination, as has been argued by some health pundits and interested scientist, has many side effects which endanger the lives of the vaccinated (Poppe et al. 160). One, vaccination introduces retroviruses which can have lethal effects on the human body. For example, if the SV-40 monkey virus is passed to the human body, the reaction between human antibodies and the antigen can cause side effects such as blindness and hearing loss. Two, vaccination may not be able to prevent diseases whose viruses mutate rapidly.
Three, different people have different immune systems, yet the vaccination given to them is similar making vaccination unpredictable. Finally, the mere fact that some vaccines have been removed from the market is a clear testament that vaccination is unreliable. In February 2002, Lyme Disease vaccine was removed from the market for causing symptoms which had not been predicted before the vaccine was rolled on to the market. Besides, some pharmaceutical companies continue to make a profit by selling vaccines classified as ineffective by the Center For Disease Control hence endangering the lives of many people.
Conclusion
Having analyzed the types of vaccines, how a vaccine works and the arguments for and against vaccination, I conclude that vaccination is healthy, effective and important to every child or adult. In spite of the fact that I am cognizant of the effects of vaccination, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the merits outdo the demerits hence I recommend vaccination to every American citizen.
Works Cited
Bonanni, Paolo, Juan José Picazo, and Vanessa Rémy. "The intangible benefits of vaccination–what is the true economic value of vaccination?." Journal of market access " health policy 3.1 (2015): 26964.
Cameron, Ross L., et al. "Human papillomavirus prevalence and herd immunity after the introduction of a vaccination program, Scotland, 2009–2013." Emerging infectious diseases 22.1 (2016): 56.
Hobson-West, Pru. "Understanding vaccination resistance: moving beyond risk." Health, risk " society 5.3 (2003): 273-283.
Plotkin, Stanley. "History of vaccination." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.34 (2014): 12283-12287.
Poppe, Trygve T., and Erling O. Koppang. "Side‐Effects of Vaccination." Fish vaccination (2014): 153- 161.
