Running head: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 1

Argumentative Essay: Vaccines Do More Good than Harm.

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Introduction

It is of great importance to protect the health of a child through good community values

within society. To realize this, individuals have to choose whether to immunize or not, which is

one of the most powerful defenses that are effective and safe. However, some groups have

completely gone against the process of vaccination as a way of preventing their children from

diseases such as diphtheria, polio and even measles among others (Dubé, Vivion, and

MacDonald, 2015). Such a move has hence created a debate on whether to vaccinate or not, in

which people have had different opinions regarding the process and its effectiveness as well as

safety with most of them particularly some religious groups going against the practice due to

their norms, customs and culture. Therefore, although it may be quite tempting to believe that

vaccines do more harm than good to the health of a human being, in this paper, I will argue that

vaccines indeed do more benefit than harm to the human body thereby impacting the whole

society hence living a healthy life.

Background

The history of vaccines and vaccination in general dates back in the year 1796 after the

founder of vaccinology Edward Jenner has a successful demonstration of smallpox immunity as

well as a successful inoculation of a boy aged thirteen years with cowpox or what is termed as

vaccinia virus. Later in the year 1798, there was the development of the first smallpox vaccine

which was followed by the invention of the plague vaccine in the nineteenth century. Since then,

there has been a continuous development of other vaccines of different types such as the

inactivated as well as the live attenuated vaccines (Yaqub et al., 2014). These vaccines include

the DPT vaccine for conditions such as Tetanus, Whooping cough and Diphtheria, the BCG

vaccine among many others. For such a reason, children are capable of being immunized for
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dangerous conditions such as Measles, Polio, and Diphtheria. Since then, there have been

debates on whether vaccination is important, based on the harms that it causes to an individual in

comparison with the benefits.

Presentation of the argument

In my opinion, vaccines and the process of immunization help in protecting the children

from complications and illnesses of different diseases that are vaccine-preventable. Failure to

vaccinate the children, therefore, results in issues such as leg and arm amputation, hearing loss,

brain damage, and convulsions. In case serious measures are not taken, such conditions end up

resulting in the deaths of such individuals. I find it worth those parents will always want to do

everything possible in ensuring that their children remain and live healthy besides being

protected from preventable diseases, which makes vaccination the best way of doing so (Yaqub

et al., 2014). Moreover, vaccination is of many benefits to the society as such vaccine-

preventable or immunizable diseases and conditions are still a threat to the health of an

individual. These include Polio, Measles, Whooping cough and Mumps among many others.

Failure to vaccinate these diseases for the groups and communities that see the exercise as

harmful has resulted in numerous hospitalizations of individuals in addition to deaths that greatly

affect society.

The validity of the argument

The argument that failure to vaccinate people for the diseases and conditions that are

immunizable results in mortalities and a high number of patients who are hospitalized due to the

same diseases they fail to receive their vaccines. In the United States, it was reported that about

65,000 people died in the US multi-state measles outbreak in the year 2014-2015 due to the

resistance of the vaccine (Yaqub et al., 2014). Again, in Africa, there have been numerous deaths
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as a result of the both Polio and Measles outbreak. Although all these numbers in Africa are not

as a result of resistance to the vaccine but due to the challenges in accessing the immunization

centers and inadequate medical facilities within the region, reports show that in the regions

where immunization took place, there were no deaths as compared to those regions where it was

hard for them to access the medical care. Such statistics, therefore, show that it is better to

immunize than not to because of the adverse effects of such diseases on the health of an

individual. Besides, these vaccines have been tested to have no side effects on the human body

and hence no need to resist them because by so doing, we are denying our children the right to

life.

Explanation

My reasons as to why vaccination should be encouraged are because it provides

immunity to different fatal diseases. In their functioning, vaccines train the human body’s

immune system to be capable of recognizing as well as combating pathogens which are either

bacteria or viruses that find their way into the body (Yaqub et al., 2014). Vaccines, therefore,

introduce the most important molecules which are referred to as antigens from the pathogen into

the body which aids in triggering the immune response as they are present on all the bacteria and

viruses. Such a move, therefore, ensures immunity to any of such bacteria and viruses thereby

preventing diseases and infections and eventually resulting in healing. For such a reason,

vaccines are of much benefit than harm to the body of an individual.

Objection

Those who express fear of or opposition to vaccination argue that their religious and

philosophic beliefs do not allow them to undergo such processes. However, I find such an

argument a myth as there is nowhere in the books of religion where it is stated that vaccines are
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bad or harmful to human health, neither do any philosophic writings go against immunization

(Dubé, Vivion, and MacDonald, 2015). Others argue that the mandatory vaccination by the

government is interference and breach of their rights of freedom and hence believes that such an

act should be based on the choice of an individual. I think it is a chilling thought to cling on.

Such an argument lacks the basis and validity as the government has the right to ensuring that

every member of the public is safe from the diseases and conditions that pose a threat to their

health. Other individuals' reasons for resisting vaccination are because they are always very

much concerned about the efficacy as well as safety of such vaccines. As a result, they end up

believing that most of the vaccine-preventable diseases never pose any serious threat or health

risk to their bodies. Such an assumption is however very wrong as these vaccines are always

tested and proven to be appropriate for the human body as they pass through numerous

regulatory bodies including that of safety.

Conclusion

In my opinion, vaccines should hence be obligatory for all the people regardless of their

religious affiliations and what their beliefs are. Such a move would, therefore, ensure that all

children enjoy their rights for medication thereby saving their lives. Failure to control a certain

disease to a single individual can result in a widespread of such condition to the whole city as

well as a country. In addition, some numerous agencies and organizations provide opportunities

for immunization as they can. Therefore, by considering the threats of failure to vaccinate, there

is no reason one should not vaccinate as such a process has many benefits than harm to the health

of an individual.
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Reference

Dubé, E., Vivion, M., & MacDonald, N. E. (2015). Vaccine hesitancy, vaccine refusal, and the

anti-vaccine movement: influence, impact, and implications. Expert review of vaccines,

14(1), 99-117.

Yaqub, O., Castle-Clarke, S., Sevdalis, N., & Chataway, J. (2014). Attitudes to vaccination: a

critical review. Social science & medicine, 112, 1-11.

Response to Reflection Questions

1. What have you learned about how to present a strong argument? How could/will

you apply this knowledge in your professional or everyday life?

After presenting the above argument, I became aware that a strong argument is constructed

through the use of facts and verifiable opinions. Additionally, basing the argument on a relatable

topic with a significant effect on the society enables the achievement of this endeavor. Therefore,

I can apply the obtained knowledge in future arguments both professionally and inter-personally.

2. Consider the English Composition 1 as a whole. What have your learned about

yourself as a writer?

Writing essay compositions based on any topic require the utmost utilization of language as a

whole. This is achieved by adhering to the principles of grammar, and other aspects of language

that exist in English compositions. Therefore, from this argumentative essay I believe that I have

developed a deeper understanding of writing, not only as a language but a means of

communicating my ideas. As such, as a writer, I have become aware of the flaws in conducting

an English composition. Hence, this knowledge provides me with the opportunity to improve and

develop the various skills acquired in the process.