Introduction
Human body functions properly when it is in a good state of health. The body has mechanisms within itself that help it maintain a good state of health by defending it against attacks from diseases and infections. The white blood cells are known to defend the body against such attacks. Another tool in the body that helps it fight against diseases is the antibodies. The antibody is a protein secreted within the body to attack an antigen in the body. It is secreted upon the presence of an antigen in the body. The antibody then binds the antigen hence protects the body from the infection of the antigen. It is on this basis that the immunization works.
The body is stimulated to produce a specific antibody so that an introduction of an antigen for which the antibody was generated can be effectively neutralized before the antigen has any effect on the body. This paper seeks to discuss the concept of immunization. The paper will illustrate the history and importance of immunization. The paper will also discuss the various reasons why some people do not present their children for immunization as well as the dangers that lack of immunization has on the life of a child.
Definition
Immunization can be defined as the process of establishing a body’s immunity against particular diseases. The immunity is created by introducing a mild form of a disease causing organism into the body. The introduced form of infection triggers the production of the antibodies for that particular disease which can then later be used by the body to fight the disease when the microorganism causing it is introduced into the body. The mild form of disease causing organism can be virus or bacteria. The substance used to immunize therefore does not provide the immunity of the body but establishes a process by which the immunity is formed (Kids Health, 2011; Stern & Markel, 2005).
History of Immunization
The history of immunization dates back to the eighteenth century. An English doctor by the name Edward Jenner was the first man to carry out a vaccination. This was done in 1796 when Edward introduced a “cowpox lesion” on a young boy followed by introduction of smallpox into the boy’s body two weeks later. The boy was never affected by the disease that was introduced into his body. Subsequent experiments were done ascertain the results. The discovery that has in the current world proved so essential originated from the farming ideology. It was observed among farmers that people who had cowpox infection on their farm became immune to smallpox on its outbreak.
This is what Edward did when he subjected a boy to cowpox which was a mild disease and then subsequently introducing smallpox into the boy’s body. This became the basis and foundation of vaccination. Advancements and invention have since been made into a variety of vaccinations (Stern & Markel, 2005). More research is being carried out in the field of vaccination into different levels of the medical field (Hicks et al, 2011).
Importance of Having a Child Vaccinated
The importance of vaccination can be derived from the benefits that have been enjoyed as a result of conducting vaccinations. Vaccination is significantly effective. The vaccinations have proved to be effective in the sense that it has widely achieved its intended purpose. According to national network for immunization information, vaccination has greatly reduced to almost elimination, the number of infections against which vaccines have been developed. Statistics shows that for Haemophilus influenza type b, the reported cases reduced from twenty thousand that were reported before its vaccine was developed to thirty-two by the year 2002.
The same trend is noted in rubella in which the number of child infections greatly reduced by the year 2004. Another advantage of vaccination is that it protects the body from disease. Curing diseases still remains an option but it has some disadvantages. When a person is attacked by a disease, there is the issue of suffering before one can get treatment. It should be noted that even as one heals after receiving treatment there are still possibilities of long lasting defects or even permanent effects that diseases can cause on the body.
The worst of a disease is death. Vaccination on the other hand ensures that the disease does not occur and therefore is a surety that none of the above mentioned possibilities are experienced. Vaccinations also reduce a person’s susceptibility to infections. It has been established that vaccination reduces susceptibility up to thirty-five times (National Network, 2010; American Nursing, 2011).
According to world health organization, by preventing a disease through vaccination, lowering of human dignity is avoided. It is therefore viewed as a life saver. It is on record that vaccination saved about two million lives in the year 2002. Vaccination also has a very important role in reducing the strain on health facilities which is indirectly achieved by the effectiveness of the process. If people were not vaccinated, then the large number, whose non existence has been attributed to vaccination, would crowd the health facilities to seek medical attention. This would require the utility of medical personnel, physical facilities and even state finances to treat the people.
The vaccination therefore reduces the economy’s expenditure that would be used to treat the people. This is categorically true because it is cheaper to immunize than to treat. Another advantage is the economic factor of individual households. When a member of a household falls ill, money will at least be used get medical attention. This amount of money could have been saved if the individual was vaccinated and then as a result never fell ill (World Health, 2011).
Why Some People Don’t Get Their Children Vaccinated
Some parents don’t take their children for vaccination. There are a number of reasons why a parent or a guardian would resort not to take up a child for vaccination. One of the reasons is the fear of reaction of the child to the vaccination. Some people think that the vaccines used to immunize their children might have side effects in the lives of the children. It has however been established that the immunization process can only cause mild reactions like soreness or fever. Adverse side effects of vaccination are very scarce. Another reason for failing to take children for immunization is the fear that the process will introduce the disease into the child’s body and as a result, the child could become sick. The child cannot however contact the disease because the substance used in vaccination is sterilized and therefore cannot cause disease.
Other reasons could range from lack of knowledge on the benefits of vaccination. The parent or guardian could be uninformed to an extent that they don’t even know that children should be immunized. This is common in remote areas of the third world countries. Another reason could just be irresponsibility of the parent (Kids Health, 2011).
Dangers of Not Getting Immunization
According to DeGregory (2001), one of the dangers of not getting immunized is the increased rate of infections and even increased death rate. Such was the case realized in England when people neglected vaccination against pertussis. The vaccine was claimed to have side effects. The children who are not vaccinated have relatively very high chances of contracting the disease than the ones who are vaccinated (DeGregori, 2001).
The medical news also states that the greatest danger of failing to immunize a child against a disease is the increasing of the child’s chances of getting attacked by the particular disease. It has also been note that failing to vaccinate children against some diseases leads to a subsequent increase in recorded death cases. The infections due to lack of immunization can also lead to disorders in the child’s body (Medical News, 2010).
Conclusion
Immunization is by its definition a mechanism to enhance and protect the body against some particular diseases. With its invention in the eighteenth century and subsequent developments, immunization has greatly been instrumental in reducing records of death and infections from the diseases against which immunization is done. Immunization has a range of advantages, from saving lives to saving money that would otherwise be used in treating the infection. Some people are however still recorded to have failed to take children for vaccination for one reason or another though there is a great danger in failing to immunize a child.
References
American Nursing. (2011). To vaccinate or not vaccinate. American Nursing Review. Web.
DeGregori, R. (2001). Bountiful harvest: technology, food safety, and the environment. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
Hicks et al. (2011). Cocaine Analog Coupled to Disrupted Adenovirus; A Vaccine strategy to evoke High-titer Immunity against addictive drugs. Milecualr Therapy. Web.
Kids Health. (2011). Your child’s immunizations. Kids Health. Web.
Medical News. (2010). Dangers of not vaccinating children. Medical News. Web.
National Network. (2010). History and Achievements. Immunization Information. Web.
Stern, M. & Markel, H. (2005). The History of Vaccines and Immunization: Familiar Patterns, New Challenges. Contents Health Affairs. Web.
World Health. (2005). Immunization against diseases of public importance. World Health Organization. Web.