An alcohol wipe slides across senior Alexandra Rodriguez’s skin, cleansing a small spot on her upper arm. A nurse slowly counts to three and then slides a needle into her muscle, injecting the medicine into her body and slipping the needle back out. A bandage sticks to Rodriguez’s arm, and the nurse records the vaccination.
Staying up-to-date on vaccines has become an expected routine in today’s society. Vaccines prevent the spread of disease by injecting a weakened or dead strand of a virus into a person, teaching their immune system how to fight off such an attack in the future. However, the amount of vaccine recipients has dwindled over the last few years. Lack of vaccinations has caused a surge in disease outbreaks — outbreaks that could have been prevented.
“I believe that vaccines are beneficial to society because it helps countries eradicate disease,” Rodriguez said. “Vaccines keep us safe and prevent potential harm to the general population.”
Rodriguez shows concern about countries suffering from polio (poliomyelitis). Eradication of this disease has taken place all over the world except in certain countries, because citizens have no access to the vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the U.S. polio-free in 1994, only three countries in the world (Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan) remain endemic with polio. The Taliban’s influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan impedes the eradication of polio. In 2012, the Taliban banned the distribution of polio vaccines in Pakistan and in Afghanistan threatens parents who vaccinate their children with the death of themselves and their children. The Taliban claims the polio vaccine originated as a plot to harm their country by sterilizing their citizens. Rodriguez finds frustration in the lack of vaccinations, because citizens of other countries don’t have the same medical opportunities as citizens in the U.S.
“Here parents are just opting out of them because of one doctor that claimed the MMR shot caused autism,” Rodriguez said. “It’s disappointing that parents won’t protect their children.”
Fear of vaccines escalated in the U.S. after the publication of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s study claiming the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism. Diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disorder, typically occurs between the ages of 18 and 36 months. As a child receives copious amounts of vaccines around this time, parents more easily believed Dr. Wakefield’s accusations. But the study Dr. Wakefield presented to the public held only fabricated data, and he lost his ability to practice in 2011 when Great Britain stripped him of his license. Before presenting this study to the public, Dr. Wakefield did not show colleagues his study, a vital step according to science teacher Ms. Michelle Hurst.
“Most scientific research has to be peer-reviewed and tested, and there’s a point to that — to make sure your methods are sound and true,” Ms. Hurst said. “The sources of information are important, which is why we should listen to doctors, not what ever [people] read on Facebook or what ever celebrity has shouted on Oprah.”
An outbreaks that recently occurred in the United States involved one the happiest places in the country. Disneyland visitors received an unfortunate shock in December 2014, when a measles outbreak occurred at the park. The outbreak most likely started from one unvaccinated visitor. 82 percent of the disease spread through unvaccinated park goers, with 42 out of 59 cases in the California outbreak linked to Disney Parks. The creation of the measles vaccine in 1965, ensures that this deadly disease can be prevented. The vaccine prevents measles in most people, but not all.
“My own children have crummy immune systems so I have to keep them healthy,” Ms. Hurst said. “They’ll still get sick even with vaccines, but it’s much less severe.”
Vaccinations break the chain of infection. By getting vaccinated, people no longer provide a susceptible host. Therefore, the disease struggles to take root in a person, stopping the spread. Vaccines also help those unable or unwilling to get them because of allergies or personal beliefs. Herd immunity occurs when protection from a disease happens because everyone around an unvaccinated person protected themselves. School nurse Elisa Watkins, RN and BSN, explains that people unable to vaccinate themselves can seek protection from a disease with the use of masks, hand washing and precaution around bodily fluids.
“I haven’t come across many true allergies to vaccines — just adverse side effects,” Ms. Watkins said. “Though it’s rare it does happen; I’ve seen it a couple times.”
Common allergens in vaccines include eggs, yeast and gelatin. Although people may exhibit adverse effects to the vaccine itself, side effects such as nausea and soreness can also occur. Religious opposition also prevents people from vaccinating. Amish communities resist getting vaccinated because they choose to distance themselves from modern influences. The Christian Science Church teaches that healing can be provided through prayer, so vaccinations hold no value to members. Those who practice Orthodox Judaism and Islam show hesistation to use certain vaccinations because of the presence of pork products in the shot. A Muslim senior and a friend of Rodriguez, Samantha Carter, explains her relationship with vaccines.
“If [I] were to ask the doctor about it and he said that there was some sort of pork product in it, I wouldn’t take it,” Carter said. “It’s prohibited in our religion but basically, if it’s a matter of life or death you could take it.”
Even though Rodriguez believes differently than her friend, she can still sympathize and understand why some people refuse vaccinations.
“For people that are allergic or can’t get it for other reasons, I totally get it,” Rodriguez said. “I think most people choose not to do so because they’re not educated. I just want people to be healthy.”
(Featured image used with permission from Wikimedia Commons)