Vaccine Hesitancy IP

.docx

School

Colorado Technical University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

632

Subject

Medicine

Date

Apr 3, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

8

Uploaded by Steelers13

VACCINE HESITANCY 1 Vaccine Hesitancy Shannon Murray Colorado Technical University
VACCINE HESITANCY 2 Vaccine Hesitancy Vaccines are a routine port of healthcare beginning as early as birth. The science surrounding vaccinations has continued to evolve over the last six centuries. As early as the 1400s people attempted to prevent illness by intentionally exposing healthy individuals to smallpox (WHO, 2021). This was called variolation. In 1872, Louis Pasteur created the first laboratory-produced vaccine. Thirteen years later he created the first post-exposure vaccine, which treated rabies. The Spanish Flue pandemic in 1918 made creating a vaccine a priority. The 1900s saw immense progress in vaccine science with the creation of vaccines for influenza, yellow fever, polio, hepatitis B, MMR, pneumococcal pneumonia, Hib, HPV, rotavirus, and many others. Vaccines have been attributed to eradicating many previously devastating diseases. In 1974, the WHO established the Expanded Program on Immunization to develop immunization programs worldwide. The first diseases targeted were diphtheria, measles, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough (WHO, 2021). An example of disease eradication is polio and smallpox. The polio vaccine went into mass trials in 1954. The first nation to eradicate polio was Czechoslovakia in 1960 (WHO, 2021). In 1967 the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the Intensified Smallpox Eradication Program to eradicate smallpox in more than 30 countries through surveillance and vaccination. The WHO (2021) defines eradication as “the permanent reduction to zero of a specific pathogen, as a result of deliberate efforts, with no more risk of reintroduction.” In 1980 the World Health Assembly declared smallpox eradicated stating “ The world and all its people have won freedom from smallpox, which was the most devastating disease sweeping in epidemic form through many countries since earliest times, leaving death, blindness and disfigurement in its wake.” Following the Smallpox Eradication Initiative, in 1988 the WHO (2021) launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and by 1994 it was eradicated from the Americas and Europe in 2002. By 2003 polio was endemic in just 6 countries, down from the original 125.
VACCINE HESITANCY 3 The 1990s and 2000s continued to see advancements in vaccine science with the development and subsequent FDA approval. In 1995 it was proven that human papillomavirus (HPV) played a key role in cervical cancer. A vaccine would be fully FDA-approved in 2006. 2006 also saw the approval of a lower-risk rotavirus vaccine. In 2002 the Meningitis Vaccine Project was founded. Within 5 years, the vaccine had nearly eliminated serogroup A meningococcal meningitis in Africa, and it is now integrated into routine national immunization programs (WHO, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic was deemed a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO (2021) on January 30, 2020. The WHO officially declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11. Efficient COVID-19 vaccinations, some of which used mRNA technology, were created, and made available at unprecedented speeds. The first COVID-19 vaccination was given in December 2020, or around a year after the first instance of the virus was detected. Ever since the first vaccination against smallpox was developed more than 200 years ago, people have been protected against fatal illnesses through vaccinations. History has shown us that a comprehensive and successful worldwide response to diseases that can be prevented by vaccinations demands patience, funding, teamwork, and ongoing attention. From inventive techniques in the 1500s to the newest technologies present in COVID-19 vaccines, science has come a long way. As of right now, immunizations provide defense against more than 20 illnesses, including cervical cancer and Ebola. Vaccinations have been a major factor in the 50% reduction in child fatalities that have occurred in just the previous 30 years. Still, more work needs to be done. Worldwide, one in five youngsters still do not have their vaccines. International cooperation, funding, commitment, and vision are required if no kid or adult in the ensuing decades is to suffer from or die from a disease that can be prevented by vaccination. Vaccinations became a public health initiative at their inception. As per the Mayo Clinic (n.d.), Massachusetts was the pioneer state to require children to receive a smallpox vaccination prior to
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help