Christopher Dookie
ENGL 21003
Professor Carr
11/29/2022
Vaccinations prepare our bodies in order to stimulate an appropriate response to potentially life-threatening illnesses and diseases (CDC, 2022). It has been proven to be the safest way to protect against disease and prevent serious illness. It is impossible to predict when a person will get these diseases which can lead to complications or even death therefore, it is imperative to build immunity in the case of such events (CDC, 2022). Nevertheless, there are still individuals who are hesitant toward vaccinations. The reason for this hesitancy differs from person to person due to various misconceptions brought upon by a lack of information on vaccines.
Vaccines imitate infections and teach the immune system how to fight off invading pathogens ( bacteria, germs, viruses). There might be some symptoms such as a fever but this is a normal response and is expected since the body is building immunity. A vaccinated body will contain various white blood cells that will remember how to deal with that disease. However, it is possible that an individual may still contract the disease since the body did not have enough time to create a sufficient supply of white blood cells to protect against that disease. Vaccines are not perfect but it is the safest way to protect yourself and those around you (CDC,2022).
Vaccines are subject to a plethora of trials to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the product before introducing to the public. There are human clinical trials tested in three phases. Phase 1 consists of a small group of young, healthy adults to determine safety, correct dosage amount, and immune response. Phase 2 consists of hundreds of varying age groups. This phase requires multiple trials and volunteers with similar characteristics are compared for accurate results. Phase 3 consists of thousands of volunteers who are divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The control group is not given the vaccine but rather a comparator product (reference standard) while the experimental group is given the vaccine. This trial is usually conducted on a much larger scale, meaning there are trials being conducted in multiple countries and multiple sites within the country to confirm the vaccine performance across different populations. In Phases 2 and 3, both the volunteers nor scientists do not know whether or not the participant was from the experimental group or the control group. This allows for an unbias assessment of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. If the vaccine meets the criteria, it gains public health approval where it is introduced to the public and further monitoring takes place (How are vaccines developed?).
The target audience for this project will be immigrants because of my personal connection and experience on this topic. I will highlight the significant issues surrounding vaccines pertaining to this specific subset of people. Low immunization rates were reported within the immigrant population, placing them at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. The major problem is the lack of information on vaccines and the process of their development (Daniels, et al., 2022). This raises questions and concerns about the reliability and credibility of vaccines therefore, I will concisely and coherently explain the physiological process behind vaccines and the various phases of development through various media.
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