On February 28, 1998, British gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an article stating correlations between vaccines and serious developmental disorders in children (Gerber & Offit, 2009, p. 456). Although Dr. Wakefield's study has since been proven to be flawed, his research sparked a highly controversial debate between artificial and natural immunity. The reality is that we still don't know all of the potential short- and long-term effects of vaccines on us. Do their side effects outweigh their benefits? Do we know what is added to vaccines and are they safe? These are just a few questions to consider before vaccinating yourself or your children. Vaccines contain all or part of a given antigen that may be weakened or dead. Once you are injected with a given vaccine, your body begins to develop antibodies against that pathogen, creating a temporary immunization against that specific disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). This may seem like a logical way to defend our health, but in doing so we bypass natural IgA immunity, our first line of defense against harmful pathogens. IgA is found in mucosal tissues and acts to defend against invading pathogens and other enteric toxins by blocking their attachment to epithelial cells. Removing this element of our natural immune system often causes our body to overreact to vaccines, sometimes creating unwanted effects (Mantis, Rol, & Corthésy, 2011). It is well known that vaccines can cause many different side effects. Once you have received a vaccine, the CDC strongly recommends monitoring for serious and life-threatening symptoms. Some adverse effects such as... middle of paper ......ccines and autism: a story of changing hypotheses. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 48(4), 456-461. doi:10.1086/596476Gould, B.E. & Dyer, R. (2011). Pathophysiology for the health professions. St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier. Mantis, NJ, Rol, N. and Corthésy, B. (October 5, 2011). Mucosal immunology - Complex roles of secretory IgA in immunity and intestinal mucosal homeostasis. Accessed March 21, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/mi/journal/v4/n6/full/mi201141a.htmlMarcola (April 29, 2011). The emergence of vaccine-induced diseases. Accessed March 21, 2014, from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/29/the-emergence-of-vaccine-driven-diseases.aspxU.S Food and Drug Administration (2014) . , March 14). Thimerosal in vaccines. Accessed March 28, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/safetyavailability/vaccinesafety/ucm096228#saf

Essay / On February 28, 1998, British gastroenterologist Dr. Andrew Wakefield published an article stating correlations between vaccines and serious developmental disorders in children (Gerber & Offit, 2009, p. 456). Although Dr. Wakefield's study has since been proven to be flawed, his research sparked a highly controversial debate between artificial and natural immunity. The reality is that we still don't know all of the potential short- and long-term effects of vaccines on us. Do their side effects outweigh their benefits? Do we know what is added to vaccines and are they safe? These are just a few questions to consider before vaccinating yourself or your children. Vaccines contain all or part of a given antigen that may be weakened or dead. Once you are injected with a given vaccine, your body begins to develop antibodies against that pathogen, creating a temporary immunization against that specific disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2013). This may seem like a logical way to defend our health, but in doing so we bypass natural IgA immunity, our first line of defense against harmful pathogens. IgA is found in mucosal tissues and acts to defend against invading pathogens and other enteric toxins by blocking their attachment to epithelial cells. Removing this element of our natural immune system often causes our body to overreact to vaccines, sometimes creating unwanted effects (Mantis, Rol, & Corthésy, 2011). It is well known that vaccines can cause many different side effects. Once you have received a vaccine, the CDC strongly recommends monitoring for serious and life-threatening symptoms. Some adverse effects such as... middle of paper ......ccines and autism: a story of changing hypotheses. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 48(4), 456-461. doi:10.1086/596476Gould, B.E. & Dyer, R. (2011). Pathophysiology for the health professions. St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier. Mantis, NJ, Rol, N. and Corthésy, B. (October 5, 2011). Mucosal immunology - Complex roles of secretory IgA in immunity and intestinal mucosal homeostasis. Accessed March 21, 2014, from http://www.nature.com/mi/journal/v4/n6/full/mi201141a.htmlMarcola (April 29, 2011). The emergence of vaccine-induced diseases. Accessed March 21, 2014, from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/29/the-emergence-of-vaccine-driven-diseases.aspxU.S Food and Drug Administration (2014) . , March 14). Thimerosal in vaccines. Accessed March 28, 2014, from http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/safetyavailability/vaccinesafety/ucm096228#saf

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