Pros And Cons Of Mary Catherine

Mary Catherine is just one example, of the many children who have faced the consequences that come with not being vaccinated. Mary’s parents, Suzanne and Leonard Walthers, decided to research the safeness of vaccines for their new baby and found information that initially made them decide against getting Mary vaccinated. It is because of this decision, that Mary came down with a form of meningitis, one that had nearly been eradicated in the U.S. and could have easily been prevented with a vaccination, just days before her first birthday (Bumper and Carter). Luckily, Mary survived, but her parent’s deeply regretted their choice to not have her vaccinated. Although the family still expresses their concerns over the side effects associated with vaccines, Mary’s mother, Suzanne, stated, “‘’I don't want my child to be the one in 3 million’ who has a bad reaction to a vaccine. ‘But I also don't want mine to be the one in 10 that dies if they get the disease. I'd rather take my chances with the one in 3 million than the one in 10’" (Bumper and Carter). The anti-vaccination movement is really doing more harm than good at this point, by convincing more and more people to be against vaccination, on evidence that hasn’t even been scientifically proven, we are putting our children and community at increased risk. A main cause in the decline of several diseases, that had once been the cause of millions of deaths, can be attributed to the introduction of vaccines. Before, there was a widespread fear of catching these diseases, such as polio and the measles, but they are almost mute now due to advancements in science. Even though we have been told that these diseases have been eradicated, they have really only been camouflaged by the increased immunity provided to us through vaccines. Therefore, it’s very possible that an individual can contract an illness, even one that we had thought to be gone for good, if they don’t receive vaccinations. There is an even greater risk for unvaccinated individuals when they travel abroad. Although some diseases aren’t present in the U.S., doesn’t mean that they aren’t in other parts of the world. The GeoSentinel Surveillance Network recently published a study regarding vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) that individuals had contracted while traveling abroad. They found that “3% of ill returned travelers presenting with fever had a VPD” (Bogglid). This number is pretty significant, regarding the fact that most people do receive vaccinations before traveling and this group only includes those who had presented with fevers. The GeoSentinel Surveillance Network makes the statement that “the overall burden of VPDs among all ill returned travelers is [still] unknown” (Bogglid). Not only do individuals risk their own health by traveling abroad without receiving proper vaccinations, but they also endanger others in their native country who have not been vaccinated against certain diseases that they may have been exposed to upon their return. This can also be an issue for unvaccinated individuals who stay in the country. When an individual who is not vaccinated contracts an illness, it is likely the illness will spread to others who have also not been vaccinated. This is a serious problem because, at this point, the individual’s choice to not receive vaccinations starts to affect the health of others by reducing herd immunity. “In the public health viewpoint, ‘herd immunity’ means that ‘the risk of infection among susceptible individuals in a population is reduced by the presence and proximity of immune individuals’” (Sobo). Herd immunity is compromised in situations where enough people decide …show more content…
Vaccines also must go through vigorous testing in order to ensure that the medicine is completely safe. Still, it’s important to talk to your physician about the ingredients contained in the vaccine and the possible side effects, so that they can determine if it’s safe for your child to receive certain vaccinations. Over the course of vaccine history, multiple discrepancies have surfaced, questioning whether vaccines are really as safe and effective as the medical community makes them out to be. Being that most of these theories have been scientifically disproven, we can be confident that the decision to have our children vaccinated is the right thing to