Introduction

Owing to the high rate of infant mortality and the increased outbreak of other viral diseases, there is a need for parents to vaccinate their children from infancy despite the diverging perception. One of the benefits of vaccination is safety; when children get vaccinated, their safety is assured such that they do not risk mortality or disability in cases of the outbreak of the disease. An argument raised against vaccination is its side effects, and it is true that some vaccines cause minor reactions such as redness of the skin in the affected area, soreness, tenderness, and fever for some (Dredze et al. 2016). There have been several successful immunization programs that are reliant on updates policies as well as effective strategies which have contributed to sustenance and an improvement in the quality of life of young ones. In the US, for instance, there are several policies that have been developed on vaccination which target not only children but different groups of people, and with the emergence of new technologies and increased focus on vaccination safety issues, the overall quality of public health has been improved.

Vaccinations are safe and effective as they have undergone long and careful reviews by medical practitioners, scientists, lawmakers which ensure they do not pose any threat to people. A specific controversy is that has been raised is that while the government has a public health commitment to the public, individuals also have a responsibility to protect each other. A specific advantage is that hospitalizations in the US due to polio occurrence have significantly reduced and at the moment, there are no cases of polio due to vaccinations which have also reduced the burden of healthcare costs (Moturi et al., 2014). A specific disadvantage of immunization is that it has negative impacts on people with different health conditions such as Leukemia because their immune system is low. Even though there are varied opinions regarding vaccination, it has led to significant improvement in child health and a reduction in infant mortality rates.

Literature Review

The origin of vaccination dates back to 1000 AD, which was an approach that Chinese people used against smallpox. Similar procedures were used in Africa and Turkey, although the first vaccination promotion instance was in the US in 1721 when the Puritan minister, Mather Cotton suggested the necessity to get vaccination owing to an outbreak of smallpox. The present-day vaccination practices were established as a result of the vaccine created by Edward Jenner. The vaccine was created from cowpox, which is a similar condition to smallpox, although it affects cows. The prototype was tested in 1796 on a young child, and it was successful as such it was adopted for more than 200 years where updates were done on it to eradicate smallpox (Pulendran & Ahmed, 2011). In 1809, Milton, Massachusetts became the initial region in the US to render immunizations on smallpox for free, and a year later, a law was issued by the state regarding issuance of smallpox vaccination.  In 1988 the national VICP was established under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act which ensured stable vaccine supply. On the 9th of July 1999, there was a growing concern of the correlation between vaccination and Autism, although there was no evidence that vaccines caused any harm. It was also noted that there were more significant risks in failing to vaccinate children rather than the unknown risks associated with the vaccination. In Aug 2010, the court established that there were no links between vaccination and Autism.

The study carried out by Pulendran & Ahmed (2011) notes the top benefits of vaccination. The research indicates that vaccination saves the lives of children because they are protected from many diseases compared to prior times. The disease which killed and injured many have been dealt with through vaccination. Polio, for instance, is one of the conditions that was threatening and rendered many children paralyzed at a tender age. It was among the most feared diseases in the US as it also caused many infant deaths; however, due to vaccination, polio threats have been contained. Pulendran & Ahmed (2011) also notes that vaccination is very safe and that when parents get their children immunized, they are concerned about their future lives. Conditions such as measles and whooping cough keep recurring and also lead to a number of deaths, especially in infants. Failure to get children vaccinated thus means exposing them to the risk of these conditions. Further, it is essential to note that vaccines save both time and money. When children are not vaccinated and get attacks from diseases such as polio which paralyze them, there will be increased expenses associated with taking care of the child, their education, and other medications that will be required. Vaccine shots on the same, on the other hand, are free and take the least time. Vaccination is thus a good investment not only for the child but also for the parent and the community. Vaccines also ensure that future generations are protected because some of the diseases no longer exist.

DeStefano et al. (2019) research study points out that even though there is strong evidence regarding the benefits of vaccination, there are adverse impacts associated with vaccination. The study notes that some of the side effects of include soreness of either the leg or hand where the vaccine has been injected. Some children may also develop a fever that may last for several days. Half of the children who get vaccinated get such effects. Others also get seizure and allergic reactions, which may threaten their well-being. DeStefano et al. (2019), note that other perceived risks of vaccination include infant death syndrome, which increases infant mortality rates. Other scholars note that the benefits of vaccination cannot be ascertained because there are people who have been vaccinated yet they have been affected by the threats such as influenza while others who were not immunized yet led healthy lives were never affected by such diseases. The argument presented is that in some cases, vaccination is not useful for people with weak immune systems. Even if they obtain full vaccination, they still risk being affected by the conditions they have been vaccinated against. Vaccination was made a mandatory practice in different states in the US, which deny people freedom of choice. Their informed consent based on their philosophical and religious beliefs is as such dismissed due to the practice.

Conclusion

Although there are varied opinions regarding vaccination, it is essential that parents ensure that their children are vaccinated because the benefits of immunization outweigh their setbacks. Immunization ensures that children do not succumb or get adverse effects from typical conditions such as polio, measles, whooping cough, and influenza. Contradictions regarding vaccinations are that vaccines are not entirely safe due to the side effects they have, such as allergic reactions and seizures. It is also argued that some vaccines are not effective on people owing to their immunity. It is, however, essential to consider vaccination due to the benefits it offers.