Vaccines

Parents always have good intentions and want to do what's best for their children. This includes worrying about their health and well-being. It's an instinct to keep a child anyway from any harm. But some misguided parents are keeping their children away from something as helpful as a vaccine. Vaccines are among one of the greatest medical achievements to date. However, most parents focus on the myths and rare side effects of vaccines. Because many of the cases of preventable diseases are rarely seen anymore, parents don't understand how severe or deadly they are. They choose the unwise decision of delaying or never getting their children the fifteen vaccines they need.

Karen Lewis, the author of the article “Why Parents Should Vaccinate Their Children,” is writing to parents and care takers of children. She is writing to all parents about the purpose of vaccines. But most importantly, she is reaching out to the parents of kids who have not had their immunizations yet. Her audience is known because of the frequent use of the word parent. “Sixty years ago, parents were much more worried about the side effects of diseases than about side effects from vaccines” and “most parents did not ever see any vaccine-preventable diseases” are a couple examples (Lewis, para 2). Lewis’ audience includes people of a lower class and lower educational background. Many parents from a higher class and who have a higher level of education know the importance of medical advances such as vaccinations. These individuals know the consequences of not having their children vaccinated.

The purpose of this article is to inform the public on the safety of vaccinations. It debunks a common myth that many parents still believe to be true. This myth is that a measles shot could cause autism. According to the article, over twenty studies have tested if vaccines were able to cause autism. There are no connections found between vaccines and autism (Lewis, para 9). The author also goes on to tell...