The Pros And Cons Of Childhood Vaccinations

Discussion # 2 – Childhood Vaccinations

It is important to note that at the beginning of this assignment, my views towards vaccinations were very set. I come from a family of physicians and dentists and I myself was transitioning from a career in finance towards become a physician until last year (my brain surgery). However, in life you pick yourself up, dust things off (the ones that can be dusted off) and adjust. Therefore, even though I am no longer pursuing a career as a physician, I am preparing to become a nurse. I mention this to elaborate on the context of my views: vaccines are an absolute must for multiple reasons. After doing research, I am more aware of different arguments toward not wanting vaccines but as in everything in life, there are benefits and drawbacks that must be considered and the way I see it, the benefits of vaccines
In medicine, medications can sometimes be toxic, but if the benefit they provide exceeds the negative effect, then it is absolutely worth it: case in point, chemotherapy. Chemotherapy helps patients battle cancer, but make no mistake, it does so by killing cells and it is indeed, poisoning unhealthy and healthy tissue alike, hence such negative side effects. Similarly, vaccines pose certain risks: everything that punctures the skin has the risks of pain, infection, inflammation of the site, fever etc., injecting a trace of a microorganism into your body may and will have a negative effect. However, these risks are very small. To me, realizing the risks of certain preventable diseases makes getting the vaccine a very easy decision. Apparently, this perspective works in convincing parents that the real issue is considering the risks, instead of focusing on the odds of contracting the disease. This particular argument is helpful to convince parents who believe they know better, to accept the