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A Position Paper about Vaccines to fight infectious diseases: Should be taken or not?

I. Introduction
A.
B.
C. Position (TS): Vaccines have now given us hope in fighting this pandemic, but as we
all know, vaccines can be beneficial or harmful to our bodies. If I were asked this
question, I would choose to get vaccinated.

II. Arg. 1 Vaccines work by training the immune system how to detect and combat the
viruses that cause diseases, thereby keeping us healthy.

III. Arg. 2 A common misunderstanding is that a 95% effectiveness rate means you have a
5% risk of being sick even though you get vaccinated

IV. Arg. 3 Clinical trials have validated the safety of the vaccines. Whenever a pandemic
happens vaccines must go through multiple phases of rigorous testing, analysis, and
review.

V. Conclusion
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A Position Paper on Vaccines to Fight Infectious Diseases: Should be Taken or not?

Jonas Anthony B. Perez

University of Santo Tomas Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Purpcom 1: Purposive Communication

Asst. Prof. Mildred M. Antonio, MAT

November 12, 2022

Vaccine trains the immune system to produce antibodies. The immune system defends

the body against pathogens, which are disease-causing agents. In simple terms, a vaccine is a

pathogen-imposter that appears to the immune system as a specific bacteria or virus but does not

cause illness to the body. Vaccine hesitancy is a term that has emerged in research to describe

anyone who is skeptical of vaccinations or chooses to delay or refuse immunizations even when

they are readily available. We are more likely to transmit a disease to others or be in a more

difficult state if we do not get vaccinated against it since our immune system has not yet

developed any resistance to the virus. Considering this, vaccination is critical in the battle against

infectious diseases since it not only reduces individual risk of infection, but it also contributes to

community protection and reduces the probability of viral transmission.

Vaccines are crucial when governments try to contain a pandemic because a population's

hesitation can quickly turn into a rejection. According to research on identifying hesitation and

refusal factors in this current pandemic, there are various variables linked with vaccine-related

activities or cues to action, severity (side effects and effectiveness), advantages, obstacles, and

motives that are significant to individuals' decision making. As a result, the efficacy of the linked

public policy, which should be founded on information, trust, and legitimacy, may be limited.

Given their importance in raising public awareness and influence, the roles of social media and

physicians in this process might become critical. Therefore, identifying the factors that lead to

rejection and hesitating in accepting a hypothetical vaccination is critical since the government

will need to specify the beliefs and characteristics that should be sought in communication

efforts to encourage possible vaccine admission.

First, Vaccination should be implemented effectively to attain herd immunity. According

to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 14 infectious diseases that

were historically common in the United States prior to the introduction of vaccinations for each

of them. Those diseases are polio, tetanus, flu, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, rubella, Hib, measles,

whooping cough, pneumococcal, rotavirus, mumps, chickenpox, and diphtheria. While the

diseases remain, they are no longer a concern since vaccinations have inoculated the majority of

the people. It has been proven from this information that using vaccinations as a means to fight

infectious diseases is no longer a threat to our health.

Second, the government and medical experts should educate the public about

vaccinations to ensure that information about vaccine are factual and safe. Since most people are

not familiar with medical terminology, it is best to educate them about vaccinations and how

they operate. With these, we can clear up some myths and misunderstandings. In a study

published in Nature, researchers analyzed the relationships between vaccine uptake, vaccine

hesitancy, and online misinformation. The researchers examined how online misinformation is

related to vaccination rates and levels of vaccine hesitancy across the United States using data

from Twitter, Facebook, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They

examined 55 million tweets for misinformation and geolocated US users to the state in which

they resided. They then looked at vaccine uptake in these states to see if they could link it to

social media misinformation. They discovered a relation between misinformation and vaccine

uptake, and when misinformation increased, vaccine uptake decreased. The study found that

“Associations between vaccine outcomes and misinformation remain significant when

accounting for political as well as demographic and socioeconomic factors.”

Third, Vaccination should be a requirement when going outside to reduce the risk of

spreading and to increase vaccinated individuals. Vaccination requirements are regulations that

require workers, students, or clients to be vaccinated and present proof of vaccination in order to

comply. It is an efficient method of increasing immunization rates and reducing disease

incidence. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to safeguard both

patients and workforce, the strategy of Houston Methodist was the first health system to require

COVID-19 immunization for all employees. It has achieved 100% compliance, with 24,947

employees immunized. Over 600 employees were granted medical and religious exemptions,

while just 153 employees (.5%) withdrew or were dismissed for failing to comply.

The presence of viruses would always pose a threat to humankind. Getting vaccinated

will be our best protection against the deadly and more lethal virus as it continuously mutates. It

is understandable that certain people might be hesitant to get vaccinated for some reasons.

However, the choice would always be ours. In conclusion, people should get vaccinated for these

diseases with the vaccines that are developed and tested by qualified professionals, examined by

FDA and CDC, and is proven by several clinical trials that no harm can be done to humans.
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References:

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strategies for your community. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved
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Cerda, A. A., & García, L. Y. (1AD, January 1). Hesitation and refusal factors in individuals'
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The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (n.d.). How vaccines work. History of Vaccines RSS.
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