The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that vaccinations will prevent 732,000 deaths among adolescents that have been born within the past two decades. (CDC, 2017) Today, many parents have refused to vaccinate their children in fear of their kids developing adverse effects, such as autism. Healthcare providers disagree with those parents, and believe that vaccinations are essential in keeping our community healthy. Without vaccines, diseases that have previously been eradicated would likely make a comeback in society. Allowing diseases to return to the general public would endanger today’s adolescents, as well as, children in the future. There are strong arguments from both pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine …show more content…
The AAP states “by 2013 nearly 9 out of 10 pediatricians say they were asking by at least one parent in their practice to alter their child’s immunization schedule.” That is 87% of parents resisting vaccinations. Most parents believed that vaccines were not necessary anymore because there weren’t any current outbreaks of the diseases. (Dr. Horton, K., 2016)
Thus, parents who refuse to vaccinate their children can thank the parents that do vaccination their children for keeping their kids safe. This concept is known as herd immunity. When a large portion of a community is protected against a disease due to vaccination, then most of the other members are protected as well because there is little opportunity for an outbreak to occur. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006) If fewer children are being immunized every year then the community loses its herd immunity protection. The decrease in vaccinated children will allow for a bigger margin that diseases can penetrate through. More children will become infected which can lead to a massive outbreak. (Meissner, H.C.,