Research has proven that vaccines prevent disease. Important medical organizations conclusively support and advise the administration of vaccinations to prevent diseases that once caused devastating effects both in the individual who contracted, and in communities where these diseases spread. While some groups protest against the constitutionality of vaccinating, others counter that failure to do so subjects the unvaccinated to illness and death by contracting and spreading of the sickness. In the 21st Century, many people are unaware of diseases that still occur in undeveloped countries due to herd immunity through a majority vaccinated population.
The diseases, however, are only a plane ride away. Due to globalization, vaccine preventable diseases can land in anyone?s kindergarten. As modern science strives to demonstrate vaccine safety and efficacy, despite the rare but undisputed adverse effects, individual decisions to vaccinate remain a complex process with differences in perception, beliefs, and values to consider. These tenets will manage to produce research and evidence to support both pro-vaccination and against-vaccination in an attempt to determine if the potential benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the detrimental side effects that may result.
Potential Benefits of Vaccinations
An important example of an efficacious vaccine is the Smallpox vaccination. In fact, the only way to be protected from Smallpox is through vaccination. Though Smallpox was once a virulent disease taking the lives of over one third of those infected, it has since been eradicated by means of vaccinations. The protection from Smallpox, influenza, polio and many other diseases and viruses are already well-known vaccination benefits. Are vaccinations effective at eradicating diseases? Regarding the effectiveness to eradicate an epidemic, there is a concept known as "herd immunity." Fine (1993) explains that "If an infection is to persist, each infected individual must, on average, transmit that infection to at least one other individual. If this does not occur, the infection will disappear progressively from the population." Note, there are those who are too young or too sick to become vaccinated, without herd immunity, many people will be at risk. Therefore, the higher percentage of those vaccinated, the higher the efficacy of any given vaccination in protecting not only those vaccinated, but also the population as a whole.