Vaccines

Vaccines: To Help Or To Make it Worse Haris Malik Darren Lucas Tuesday & Thursday: 7:30-9:18 pm Spring Quarter Vaccines: To Help or To Make it worse In the world today, the advancement in technology has led to many healthy lives of people. The average age of death is increasing and there are lesser early childhood deaths. Much of the credit goes to the vaccination provided at an early age or later on in life (depending on what it’s for) which makes the person immune to a disease or bacteria, or at least start making antibodies that fight against such bacteria. Being in this course we need to realize the importance of what adding foreign antibodies can do. Today I will argue whether getting vaccination is actually helping people out or does it come with a catch. The start of the 21st brought about many questions especially in the field of science. Early 2000’s it was discovered that giving chickenpox vaccine to small children was beneficial in sense that it reduced chickenpox, but greatly increased the risk of shingles in adulthood. That’s the point of the first article where ANDREW POLLACK gives the title “Chickenpox Vaccine Cuts Deaths but Raises Questions on Shingles” (02/03/05, In: New York times, New York (NY)). Another author writes about how combination of vaccines may lead to seizure risks (Caryn R., VITAL SIGNS; CHILDHOOD: Combination vaccine and Seizure risks, 06/29/2010, New York Times, New York (NY)). The articles all discuss how it can be dangerous, instead of helpful, to take vaccine. The studies showed that children, who took the vaccine for chickenpox, had more chances of getting shingles when they grew up because the body couldn’t develop an immune system to fight against it. “After people have chickenpox, the virus remains dormant, held in check by the body's immune system. But sometimes it becomes active again, particularly in elderly people or those with compromised immune systems” says Pollack A. in his article. This means that people vaccinated against chickenpox have no checks for the virus which later on comes out in a more deadly form, shingles, in which pain is excruciating even by a single touch to the infected, rash, area. In another article, by Roni Caryn, vaccine is again the problem but with a different side story. Children who take combinations of vaccine (for reasons that may include the fact that parents feel it’s easier and cheaper) are “at twice the usual risk for fevers that lead to convulsions” says Caryn R. He also continues to say that the reactions (which occur between a week and 10 days) aren’t life threatening but the fever related convulsions can be frightening. On the other hand, Katharine M. (in her article: “Area of low vaccination rates pose risk to students”, 9/11/10, New York Times, New York (NY)) reports that there have been risks to students in the bay area who have not been vaccinated. “These kids are in classrooms where 40 percent or more of the kids aren’t vaccinated” said Dr. Mark Netherda, deputy health officer for Sonoma County (interviewed by Katharine). All this even though “the state requires that to attend kindergarten, students must be up-to-date on their immunizations for polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and chickenpox” (Katharine M.). In two cases demonstrated above, vaccinations seem like a bad idea. While on the next one, it’s a state law to have been vaccinated and there is a great fuss about not being vaccinated. We can take more of a general idea and think about the case with chickenpox vaccine. What if every vaccines had a drawback like it does, and promoted a bigger disease or virus in our bodies like shingles' In the end all the authors left with a cliffhanger. They left it on us to decide, but with a lot of facts. Is it really better to take vaccine to cancel out a week’s worth of allergy than to not take it and prosper in the long term' Are some of the vaccines really important, especially in children' Or are all vaccines just a way to make money and damage you overall in the end'