Discussions on childhood vaccinations tend to turn heated quickly. People with opinions on both sides of the issue are very passionate about their beliefs, and all parents are trying to make the choice they feel is best for their child. Vaccinations have been introduced over the years as a way to protect children against diseases that in the past have left children weakened, disfigured, and even dead. Taking the preventative measure to vaccinate a child is always the right answer. While there are occasionally side effects associated with vaccinations, the risks of these side effects will always outweigh the risks posed when a child contracts a deadly disease. Vaccinations for children in Cranberry, PA, are one of the best things a parent can do for their child. A Fraudulent Study In 1998, a study was released that linked the MMR vaccination with autism. This news sent off a wave of panic through parents as they feared that giving their child this vaccination would ultimately result in their child being autistic. As more people started to fear the MMR vaccination, parents began choosing to either postpone having their child vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella, or skip the vaccination altogether. These parents thought they were making the best choice for their children to help prevent them from a fate they hoped to avoid. Although it became public in 2010 that the results of the study were fraudulent, there are still some parents who fear what vaccinations can do to their children and are still choosing not to vaccinate because of it. The Consequences Over the past few years, there have been several outbreaks of serious, preventable, diseases. Whooping cough and measles have been the most prevalent. In 2014 there was a measles outbreak that originated in Disneyland where a person sick with the disease was able to spread it to several other unvaccinated children, who in turn, traveled back to their home states and spread the disease to others. It took months for this epidemic to get under control. Unfortunately, kids whose parents choose not to vaccinate tend to live in communities with other likeminded people. This means there can be neighborhoods full of unvaccinated children. When one child becomes infected with a disease, every child who has not been protected against the disease themselves will be susceptible to contracting it. The Risks Unvaccinated children pose a risk for both themselves and other unvaccinated children. Not every child is able to be vaccinated. Infants are not able to be vaccinated against these serious diseases until they reach 6 months of age. Even when they are able to be vaccinated, it takes 3 or more rounds of the vaccination before they are fully immune to a disease. Children who are diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses have to stop their vaccinations upon diagnosis. These children are already battling a disease that might take their life, and now their parents have to worry about them coming into contact with someone who may be carrying another deadly illness as well. The best way to keep these infants and children safe is to be sure that the children around them are immunized. When the majority of children in a community are immunized, the risk of the unimmunized spreading disease lessens. Many of the people choosing not to vaccinate their children grew up in a time where vaccinations were prevalent, and most preventable diseases were eradicated. Most of them do not know what it is like to watch friends and neighbors suffer from polio or rubella. Vaccinations for children in Cranberry, PA, are essential and so important for the health of all children in the community. A parent wants what’s best for their child, and having them vaccinated against deadly diseases is definitely what is best.
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