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Vaccinations. Advocating for all children to be vaccinated. Our Purpose.
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Vaccinations Advocating for all children to be vaccinated.
Our Purpose We are advocating for all children who attend public school to be required to be vaccinated. For more children to have access to vaccinations, we are proposing a free vaccination clinic within the school. We also plan to educate parents about the facts of vaccinations.
Why Vaccinate? • Vaccinations save 3 million lives per year • Vaccinations provide long-term & lifelong protection from a disease • Community Immunity • With enough people vaccinated, it makes it difficult for the disease to spread to those unable to receive vaccinations such as: • Newborns • Individuals with chronic illnesses
I am a Vaccine Success I have NEVER had: • Polio • Measles • Mumps • Rubella • Whooping Cough • Hepatitis Or any other disease that I have been vaccinated for. The ONLY side effect I have ever had from vaccination is a sore arm.
What’s the Big Deal About Vaccines? Vaccines are one of the great public health achievements of the last couple of centuries. They protect us from diseases that used to routinely kill hundreds of thousands of children in the United States and still kill hundreds of thousands globally. It’s not just important for a child to be vaccinated, it’s important at a population level to have high rates of coverage.
Diseases are Becoming Rare due to Vaccinations It's true, some diseases (like polio and diphtheria) are becoming very rare in the U.S. Of course, they are becoming rare largely because we have been vaccinating against them. But it is still reasonable to ask whether it's really worthwhile to keep vaccinating. It's much like bailing out a boat with a slow leak. When we started bailing, the boat was filled with water. But we have been bailing fast and hard, and now it is almost dry. We could say, "Good. The boat is dry now, so we can throw away the bucket and relax." But the leak hasn't stopped. Before long we'd notice a little water seeping in, and soon it might be back up to the same level as when we started.
Keep immunizing until disease is eliminated. Unless we can "stop the leak" (eliminate the disease), it is important to keep immunizing. Even if there are only a few cases of disease today, if we take away the protection given by vaccination, more and more people will be infected and will spread disease to others. Soon we will undo the progress we have made over the years.
Epidemics can occur In 1974, Japan had a successful pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination program, with nearly 80% of Japanese children vaccinated. That year only 393 cases of pertussis were reported in the entire country, and there were no deaths from pertussis. But then rumors began to spread that pertussis vaccination was no longer needed and that the vaccine was not safe, and by 1976 only 10% of infants were getting vaccinated. In 1979 Japan suffered a major pertussis epidemic, with more than 13,000 cases of whooping cough and 41 deaths. In 1981 the government began vaccinating with acellular pertussis vaccine, and the number of pertussis cases dropped again.
What if I don’t vaccinate my child? A medical exemption must be acquired Your children can pass on harmful diseases to infants and children with immune disorders Your child can get these harmful diseases Many of these diseases are fatal Your child could miss out on opportunities because they are not allowed on the premises for being unvaccinated
Harmful Effects to Other Children How would you feel about an unvaccinated child if your own child had a chronic disease that is life threatening?
Harmful Effects to Other Children CYSTIC FIBROSIS CF is a hereditary disorder affecting the exocrine glands. It causes the production of abnormally thick mucus, leading to the blockage of the pancreatic ducts, intestines, and bronchi and often resulting in respiratory infection. Children with CF or other chronic diseases depend on “herd immunity”, which means they are protected from diseases because the rest of the population is immunized or immune. If many people are unvaccinated intentionally because of personal belief exemptions, “herd immunity” is compromised, which then puts people in danger of diseases.
What about the risks? Like any medication, vaccines can cause side effects ranging from mild to more severe. Vaccines have NOT been proven to cause autism asthma learning disorders communication disorders ADD
Our Plan We will create an in school vaccination clinic and work hand-in-hand with the health department to bring free, convenient vaccinations to all students. We will also educate the parents about vaccinations as part of this clinic.
How will we do this? • We will work with the health department and school district to create the clinic. • We will educate all staff about vaccinations and the risks and benefits. • We will have vaccination presentation available for all parents to attend and gain information about vaccinations. • The clinic will be set up in the school with qualified personnel administering the vaccinations.
Conclusion Vaccinations are beneficial to everyone and we feel they need to be required with no exemption. In our research, the benefits outweigh the risks. Vaccines save lives and not vaccinating not only hurts that child, but all other children that he or she comes in contact with.
