Vaccine Wars Nursing Coursework Assignment (Coursework Sample)

Vaccine Wars
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VACCINE WARS
The use of vaccines has increased tremendously though surrounded by a lot of controversies. Many people and groups of people continue to raise controversies in the use of vaccines to prevent various diseases (Palfreman et al., 2010). The relentless wars by the world governments to fight diseases through vaccination of the populations face several setbacks. In this work, the issues concerning the use of vaccines are taken into consideration. The scientific and ethical issues surrounding the use of vaccines are also considered.
The history of the use of vaccines can be traced back to the discovery of antibiotics. As the disease burden continues to rise, mechanisms by which to counter this are invented. In the orthodox form of medical practice, little knowledge existed on the prevention of diseases. The common practice to prevent diseases was based on leading a healthy lifestyle free of stressors that may contribute to a health hazard. Administration of vaccines was not a practice then as the discovery of vaccines had not been brought into light. In the early twentieth century, medical researchers, doctors and students injected themselves with various vaccines. They discovered that the vaccines resulted into a negative phase of the so called lowered bactericidal count of the disease causative organisms. Earlier, research has used laboratory animals such as mice to determine the effectiveness of vaccines (Allen, 2007). It was discovered that the injection of the weakened form of a disease-causing organism into the mice resulting into reduced tendency to catch infections.
The mechanism by which vaccines work was studied; it was discovered that the vaccines result into a sensitization reaction (Allen, 2007). The body senses the exposure to the vaccine and develops the required antibodies against the organisms. Upon subsequent exposure to the disease, the body has developed antibodies against the infection. The body is thus able to destroy the pathogens at an early stage and thereby prevent diseases. Vaccines have been created for several diseases. Examples of such diseases include; measles, tuberculosis, whooping cough, diphtheria, pneumonia and tetanus, among others (Allen, 2007). In most cases, the vaccines have been scientifically proved to be effective in preventing these diseases. Research on vaccines has not been halted. Newer vaccines are being discovered yearly.
Several people have raised controversies in opposition to the use of vaccines. Some community leaders, religious leaders, politicians, celebrities and even parents groups are lobbying against the use of vaccines (Palfreman et al., 2010). Some religious leaders say that the oral polio vaccine has been combined with contraceptives. They argue that this has been done to prevent some mothers from getting more children. The major argument is that the use of contraceptives is against their religious principles and beliefs (Allen, 2007). Even though this has not been scientifically proven, they spread this propaganda to a great degree that majority of the populations get swayed. Many parent groups address the vaccines as ineffective and that they only increase the diseases burden in their children (Palfreman et al., 2010). They do not see how injecting a virus or bacteria can prevent their children from contracting diseases. The argument is that these organisms cause diseases. It is thus misleading for the health sector to present that this would prevent diseases.
The campaigns against the use of vaccines are causing a lot of havoc as far as the health of the public is concerned. The misguided information without scientific proof bars many people from accessing treatment (Palfreman et al., 2010). The view of the health sector is distorted. Many see the health sector as a source of diseases rather than a place of relief. As a result, many end up contracting diseases which would otherwise have been avoided. If only the public had the right information, many cases of misinformation on vaccines would be avoided. The disease burden increases several folds due to false campaigns with no scientific basis (SW Pictures, 2008). Children end up crippled late in life, the mortality rate rises and in several cases many become immune-suppressed.
Health care providers faced challenges in implementing plans to reduce mortality and morbidity. In the use of vaccines, the greatest challenge is opposition (SW Pictures, 2008). Many people are not ready to embrace that which, if rightly appl...