Immunization Controversy in the Medical Profession

Running head: HEALTH CARE
Health care
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1HEALTH CARE
Immunization controversy in the medical profession:
Immunization is one of the most important weapons to protect children from serious
illness and reduce the burden of infectious disease. However, there is great controversy
surrounding the immunization process because different people have different opinion about
immunization (Malual et al., 2018). There are some groups of people who deliberately delay
immunizations whereas there are some who refuse vaccination for their children. Full
immunization coverage varies based on geographical location, cultural values and
socioeconomic status of parents. A study by Lakew, Bekele and Biadgilign (2015) investigating
about low rate of immunization coverage among children revealed that mothers delayed
immunization due to their cultural values, socioeconomic circumstances and access to
vaccination service in the area. For example, the study revealed that rich families fully
vaccinated their children compared to poor families. In addition, lack of awareness about the
community vaccination program was also associated with delay in immunization process. This
evidence shows the influence of mother’s knowledge and awareness on vaccination process.
In contrast to the above evidence, McNeil et al. (2019) presented different side of the
argument. It revealed that many people completely refused vaccination because of past negative
reactions to vaccination, lack of trust regarding the benefits of vaccines and poor perception
about vaccination. Common reason cited by mothers regarding delaying or not to vaccinate their
children included the belief that ‘vaccination is unnecessary, vaccination cannot improve health
of their children’ and poor perception about the safety of vaccines. Compared to this, the reason
for some group to accept immunization included positive perception about safety of their child
through vaccination and preference to health and wellness (McNeil et al., 2019). Hence, many
could not afford to increase risk for their children by not vaccinating. These evidences suggest