Vaccinations Pros and Cons List

In recent months, the vaccination debate has begun heating up. The anti-vaccination crowd is only getting louder and louder, ensuring that this debate will continue to rage on for years. While vaccinations have been recommended by the majority of American health care professionals, there are certain advantages and disadvantages that must be discussed. Let’s take a look.

Pros of Vaccinations

1. Effective
The commonly held belief is that vaccinations are very effective and a necessary tool to achieve excellent personal health. Many schools refuse to accept students who do not have their vaccinations, so if you choose to eschew them, you may be endangering your child’s opportunity to receive a proper education. No parent should be making those kind of choices on their child’s behalf.

2. Decline in Major Illnesses
Since vaccinations have been introduced, we have seen a significant decline in many major illnesses and the complete eradication of others, such as polio. These diseases tend to wreak the most havoc during a person’s childhood years, which makes it all the more vital for a parent to ensure their child’s safety and allow them to receive the necessary vaccinations.

3. Risks Pale in Comparison
There are certain risks and side effects associated with vaccination, but these pale in comparison to the risks you take on when you refuse to obtain proper vaccination. When the risks of not getting vaccinated are compared with the risks of being vaccinated, it should become a much easier choice for any patients who were potentially on the fence before.

Cons of Vaccinations

1. Impossible to Get Rid of All Disease
Individual susceptibilities are not accounted for in many vaccination cases. For example, children who are born to mothers who used drugs while they were in the womb are far more vulnerable to the onset of hepatitis. It is almost impossible to get rid of every disease on the planet and the anti-vaccination demographic fears we are creating more.

2. Conflicts with Moral Beliefs of Some
There is a certain element of society that does not care for actions that deemed to be compulsory. Telling people that they must get vaccinations or be unable to attend school or participate in other important societal building blocks can lead to unrest. While some states do offer certain exemptions for those who are morally opposed, they are not universally available yet and may never be.

3. Natural Immunity May Be More Effective
Immunity that is granted to a person when their body has the chance to destroy a virus naturally lasts much longer than any immunity that is conferred through the usage of a vaccination. When a person gets chicken pox at a young age and survives, this means that they will never be able to catch the virus again, with the exception of certain extreme scenarios. Being vaccinated for chicken pox may not be able to provide the same protection as a natural outbreak can.