return of the measles essay

In the passage “Return of the Measles”, the author Patricia Smith explains the recent resurgence of the measles. What are the different sides of the debate regarding whether or not to vaccinate children against the disease? What is the author’s attitude?

In the article "Return of the Measles" by Patricia Smith there are two sides reflected for the argument on whether or not to vaccinate kids against disease. One side believes children should be vaccinated because they believe it can harm them even though it has been proven that vaccines do not harm children in anyway. By not getting vaccinated, parents do not only put their child in danger but other people in danger as well. A piece of evidence to show the argument for non vaccinations is "Kelly McMenimen, of San Geronimo, California, stands by her decision not to vaccinate her son Tobias, 8, because she didn't want "so many toxins" entering his body. As a result, Tobias has had chicken pox and whooping cough."  The other side of the argument is that it is necessary to get vaccines and that it does no harm to anyone by getting them and it is inconsiderate because you can give others diseases if you get it. An piece of evidence to support my claim is "You no more have the right to risk others by failing to vaccinate than you do by sending your child to school with a hunting knife," says New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. "Vaccination isn't a private choice but a civic obligation." this supports my main idea  because it refers to what I stated in my claim. Even though I believe the author is leaning towards the pro vaccination side I think she is mainly neutral because she shows both sides of the argument and does not state anything from view that is opinionated, However I do believe she is leaning towards the pro vaccine side because she writes "But even if everyone wanted to be vaccinated, some can't be, including newborn infants, those with vaccine allergies, and people with medical conditions that leave their immune systems compromised. They depend on everyone around them being vaccinated, so the disease can't spread. The principle is called "herd immunity." Consider someone like Rylee Beck, a 5-year-old from Orange, California, who's fighting leukemia and can't be vaccinated. Rylee's family was in Disneyland in December when the measles outbreak began."

In conclusion I believe that everyone should be vaccinated for measles and other diseases because they are not only risking their lives they are risking others around them