Should Vaccines Be Required For Children

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To Immunize or Not To Immunize “The Centers for Disease Control estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination” (ProCon Researchers n.pag.). Many parents and citizens of the United States have been challenging the importance of vaccinations amongst children. Vaccines can be the determining factor in whether or not a disease outbreak occurs, or whether or not an illness is erradicated. Opposing parents and residents argue that vaccines are unnecessary because the vaccines do nothing but put harmful substances into children’s bodies. Although, according to the article “Should Any Vaccines Be Required For Children?”, “Paul Offit, …show more content…
Vaccines can save society as a whole a lot of money over time: “The CDC estimates that children vaccinated between 1994 and 2014 have yielded net savings of $1.38 trillion in ‘societal costs’, including money saved by preventing lost productivity due to disability and early death” (ProCon Researchers n.pag.). Over the past 20 years, many families were able to save an incredible amount of money just by getting regularly vaccinated! This is because by getting proper immunizations, many children become protected from dangerous diseases that can take lives and cause disabilities. By getting vaccinated, families can save more than just their money, but also their time: “For example, children under five with the flu are contagious for about eight days, and, according to a 2012 CDC study, cost their parents an average of 11 to 73 hours of wages (about $222 to $1,456) and $300 to $4,000 in medical expenses” (ProCon Researchers n.pag.). Many avoidable illnesses end up wasting away a lot of parents’ time and money while caring for their sick child. Granted, not everytime will a vaccine work all of the time, but in many cases, vaccines help to fight off any illnesses or diseases, which experts prove to save parents and communities a lot of time and money. In total, immunizations help to save trillions of dollars in societal costs, as well as time used for caring for sick …show more content…
According to “Mandatory Vaccination: Should Vaccination Be Mandatory?”, “Rubella (also known as German measles), for example, infected roughly 48,000 people in a year in the mid 20th century; today that number is less than two dozen” (n.pag.). Immunizations for rubella have obviously proved to be effective within the past few years, because the amount of rubella cases has significantly dropped. Vaccines help to push the number of cases down and stop the spread of diseases and illnesses. The CDC also finds that vaccines are safe, “... the CDC states that after fifty years of experience with vaccines, and because vaccines go through multiple clinical trials, the short- and long-term risks are low” (“Vaccines” n.pag.). Immunizations are safe when used properly, and compared to the terrible risks that come with many illnesses and diseases, the risks associated with the vaccines are much lower risk. Vaccines are safe when a doctor correctly gives the shots. Opposing parents believe in a rumor saying that vaccines contain a harmful substance that increases children’s risks of obtaining ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), but there is no proven link between vaccines and ASD: “However, there is no evidence that exposure to vaccines containing thimerosal increases a child’s risk of developing ASD” (“Vaccines” n.pag.). Experts were not able to find any evidence linking the use of thimerosal within vaccines to