In the world, there are many dangerous diseases that modern people have successfully forgotten due to properly developed vaccines. Poliomyelitis, or polio, is an infectious disease provoked by poliovirus and transmitted from person to person or through contaminated food and water (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022b). It usually infects the spinal cord and leads to paralysis of a person. In the middle of the 20th century, the first polio vaccine was introduced to Americans to improve the quality of human life and predict the spread of this disease. CDC (2022a) highly recommends getting this vaccine early because there is no specific cure to be offered to a person diagnosed with polio. There are several periods when a polio vaccine is required: two months, four months, 6-18 months, and 4-6 years (CDC, 2022a). Thus, childhood immunization is one of the most effective steps to build herd immunity and protect against poliomyelitis.
Despite the intention to impose polio vaccination among the general population, there are several situations when this vaccine cannot be prescribed. For example, people with severe and life-threatening allergies to a previously inactivated polio vaccine cannot get it (CDC, 2022a). Besides, doctors do not recommend vaccination if the patient does not feel well at the moment because of a cold or other mild illnesses. In most cases, all adults have got the vaccine today, and those who reject this intervention must be aware of the risks related to traveling or specific working conditions. In general, the polio vaccine has significantly improved overall public health. Before its introduction, about 2-10 out of 100 people paralyzed due to poliovirus died because it was impossible to breathe with damaged or not-working muscles (CDC, 2022a). Millions of human lives have been saved, contributing to survival and high-quality treatment. Polio vaccination should not be ignored, and children must be protected by following healthcare providers’ recommendations.
Epidemiology is derived from the observations and inquiries of pioneers, such as Hippocrates, John Snow, Pasteur, and Koch, who have contributed immeasurably to the history of epidemiology. The discoveries and achievements of these epidemiological pioneers have played an important role in evolving epidemiology and disease control. This discussion focuses on the epidemiology of Louis Pasteur and how the introduction of vaccinations contributed to promoting public health.
Discussion
Epidemiology refers to the branch of medicine that deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health. Pasteur’s work with microorganisms in fermentation and pasteurization led to a much better understanding of the germ theory – that certain diseases were due to microorganisms entering the body (Britannica, 2022). Before Pasteur’s time, most people, including scientists, believed that all diseases came from within the body, not from outside. Pasteur’s findings eventually led to improvements in sterilization and cleaning in medical offices and antiseptic methods in surgery. Pasteur succeeded in identifying the organisms that had caused a mysterious silkworm disease that threatened the French silk industry. He learned how to preserve healthy silkworm eggs and prevent contamination with disease-causing organisms (Britannica, 2022). The methods he developed are still used in silk production today. Through his studies on silkworms, Pasteur made advances in the field of epidemiology, the study of the spread of disease as a result of the interaction between host and parasite populations.
Based on his germ theory of disease, Pasteur also made significant advances in the field of vaccination. He developed vaccines against chicken cholera and anthrax. Probably his most important work in the field of vaccines was the development of a rabies vaccine, a novel “inactivated” vaccine consisting of a neutralized pathogen rather than attenuated microorganisms. In 1885, he vaccinated a nine-year-old boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog and helped establish preventive medicine (Britannica, 2022). Through the development of vaccines for cholera, anthrax, rabies, staphylococcus, and streptococcus, he discovered much about the nature of infection and laid the groundwork for the microbial theory (SAGE, 2022). Therefore, many consider Pasteur, a father of immunology.
With the development of vaccines has a positive impact on public health. Since the development of the first vaccines for cholera and rabies by Pasteur, preventive medicine has taken a major turn in healthcare. As well as preventing infection or disease, vaccinations also protect the population by preventing the development of associated conditions. Generally, vaccines play an important role in the advancement of our entire global society and have a profound and far-reaching impact (NHI, 2022). Vaccines help in reducing healthcare burdens and costs and preventing the development of antibiotic resistance by reducing the need for their use. Moreover, they extended life expectancy and enabled safe world traveling. Furthermore, these two factors also have a positive impact on economic growth. One of the least understood factors of vaccines is that they tend to have different goals and perform different tasks (NHI, 2022). For example, some vaccines cannot prevent a patient from getting infected. However, they can prevent the development or severity of a disease.
Conclusion
Overall, vaccines promote public health by eliminating dangerous diseases and the effects and spread of such viruses. With the invention of Louis Pasteur, modern public health benefits from such important vaccines as cholera, anthrax, rabies, staphylococcus, and streptococcus. Pasteur’s findings led to improvements in sterilization and cleaning in medical offices and antiseptic methods in surgery. Moreover, he made advances in the field of epidemiology, the study of the spread of disease as a result of the interaction between host and parasite populations. Thus, modern public health benefits tremendously from Pasteur’s work in epidemiology and immunology.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant damage to the general health of the population and forced a review of safety measures. However, the developed COVID-19 vaccine has improved the chances of normalizing the situation in the world and reduced the severity of the symptoms of the disease. This paper focuses on the Appreciative Inquiry Discovery and Dream, which highlights evidence of the success of security objectives in terms of vaccination and suggests new opportunities for quality improvement.
Appreciative Inquiry Discovery and Dream
To comply with the discovery phase, conversations with colleagues – the head nurse and the head physician of the department were chosen. This included their thoughts on the success of COVID-19 vaccination within the institution. The chief nurse said that after vaccinating more than 50% of the staff, the spread of the virus in the camps of the institution has noticeably decreased. This approach has made it possible to protect patients to a greater extent than was observed at the beginning of the pandemic (Soares et al., 2021). In addition, the doctor explained that the institution had launched a patient education program aimed at dispelling myths about vaccination and explaining their positive effects.
The relevance of the vaccine can be traced through a variety of evidence. First of all, after vaccination, people became easier to tolerate the symptoms of the disease. This has improved survival rates for COVID-19 worldwide (Ndwandwe & Wiysonge, 2021). Furthermore, vaccinated staff were able to provide visitors with enhanced safety. Moreover, as cases among workers have declined, institutions require less additional assistance. Vaccinating a large proportion of people means that long-term restrictions on the disease may be completely lifted in the near future.
Other evidence supporting the success of vaccination for safety includes the following data. First of all, the institution allocates fewer funds to invite additional workers. In addition, data showing mortality statistics in the institutions due to complications of COVID-19 have decreased significantly (Rosenberg et al., 2022). Vaccinated patients more easily endure the severity of the disease in the wake of developed immunity. However, further goals can be proposed to improve the institution’s security. One of them is to increase employees’ awareness of COVID-19 vaccination. Another goal is to reduce disease transmission within the institution’s walls.
In addition, these goals will lead to ethical and culturally sensitive improvements in quality and safety. The rights of staff to voluntary vaccination will be respected, but their awareness will be raised. Moreover, employees will be able to openly access COVID-19 vaccination statistics, allowing them to make informed decisions. The goals are consistent with the institution’s mission, vision, and values, as their main task is to ensure the safety of patients and employees. The population’s general health is considered a priority area of the organization’s activities (Ciotti et al., 2020). Accordingly, by giving open access to information and explaining the importance of vaccination, the institution’s administration will be able to comply with the mission and values.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths include reducing the spread of disease in the facility through a vaccination education program. Weaknesses can be a lack of awareness about vaccination that interferes with sound judgment. However, to improve the situation, there are opportunities that are aimed at increasing the number of materials on the benefits of vaccination. Threats include the eventual refusal of more workers from voluntary vaccination. The analysis shows that it is possible to prevent the spread of the virus and secure the facility only with the voluntary vaccination of employees. The evaluation tools are data before and after the vaccination of some employees. The main conclusion is the need for vaccination, which will lead to the goal of protecting patients from the spread of the virus. Accordingly, an area of concern is the readiness of staff for vaccination, which can reduce the incidence of the disease as the main goal of the institution. This problem does not provide proper patient safety, which is not consistent with the mission.
Comparison of Approaches
In terms of analysis and results, AI provides more accurate perspectives through interviewing employees, while SWOT highlights superficial views. This needs to provide a sufficient basis for further research. Therefore, thinking in the study of care conditions will focus on AI as a complete description and SWOT as an opportunity to make a quick assessment. The types of data and evidence included post-vaccination cases and incidence information. The similarities between the approaches are that they show the idea’s weaknesses, but the main difference is that AI gives a broader view of the issue.
Relevant Leadership Characteristics and Skills
According to both approaches, a leader’s main qualities should be communication skills and a desire to achieve goals. Communication skills will help the leader to implement a successful AI-based project, as the approach is aimed at interviews and discussions. For a SWOT-based project, it is necessary to have constructive thinking skills to highlight specific problems. Thus, the shared characteristics for both approaches can be the ability to manage the ongoing changes, for which one needs to develop strong relationships with employees and motivate others to succeed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the awareness of staff and patients about vaccination can protect visitors to the facility. Vaccination and additional information about the disease’s consequences can improve the population’s overall health and reduce the death rate from COVID-19. In this way, healthcare organizations will be able to have more staff and help more patients. in need of immediate action. Thus, the institution will be able to live up to the values and mission of providing essential patient care.
References
Ciotti, M., Ciccozzi, M., Terrinoni, A., Jiang, W. C., Wang, C. B., & Bernardini, S. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic. Critical reviews in clinical laboratory sciences, 57(6), 365-388. Web.
Ndwandwe, D., & Wiysonge, C. S. (2021). COVID-19 vaccines. Current opinion in immunology, 71, 111-116. Web.
Rosenberg, E. S., Dorabawila, V., Easton, D., Bauer, U. E., Kumar, J., Hoen, R., Hoefer, D., Wu, M., Lutterloh, E., Conroy, M. B., Greene, D. & Zucker, H. A. (2022). Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness in New York state. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(2), 116-127.
In the article “An Outbreak of the Irrational,” Sarah Dzubay takes the opportunity to analyze how the recent 2015 outbreak of measles cases countrywide created a public health concern. Therefore, she educates reserved parents on the benefits of vaccination to their children. In a critical yet persuasive voice, the renowned scholar provides clear facts about immunization. Her main goal is to deliver the right information regarding vaccination, its benefits, and the ways it can protect the community against diseases.
To achieve her intention, Dzubay presents scientifically proven studies on how vaccines have managed to help millions of people over the past years. According to her arguments, the families who allow their children to be immunized often reduce the possibility of contracting the disease and the frequency of transmission (Dzubay). Consequently, she persuades the reluctant people to vaccinate as it is an effective and safe fighting against diseases such as measles. Her opinion coincides with that of public health experts who encourage immunization against certain ailments such as flu and polio.
In conclusion, in her article, Dzubay has managed to appeal to the audience by emotionally presenting the facts about immunization. She has disapproved some of the myths which have continued to engulf this idea of treatment over the past years. Dzubay has provided scientifically proven evidence to show the health benefits of vaccination. Finally, she has warned the families against denying their children the right to treatment. Therefore, parents should follow her advice and allow their children to be vaccinated against ailments such as measles. Further, the mechanisms will help to reduce the number of death rates that have been experienced among the children over the past years.
Ever since its first documentation, vaccination has reshaped the perception and landscape of human health. Despite the fact that many healthcare organizations support vaccination claiming its effectiveness, there is no mandatory vaccination for children. Many Americans remain skeptical about the safety of vaccines questioning the positive effects of immunization. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination is capable of preventing more than 21 million hospitalizations and 723,000 deaths among children (“Report Shows” par. 1). Nevertheless, no US laws mandate vaccination, but certain vaccinations are required by states. The anti-vaccination movement argues that vaccination should not be mandatory since it poses a threat to children and may lead to severe diseases, including autism, diabetes, and ADHD. However, lobbying attempts of anti-vaccination should be rejected because vaccines are effective against diseases and safe, they can save children’s lives, and side-effects of vaccines are minor.
Opponent’s First Claim
Those who claim that vaccination should not be mandatory offer several reasons which, upon close investigation, appear to be non-substantial. Opponents of vaccination argue that vaccines can cause serious and sometimes fatal side-effects (Hussain et al. 2920). It should be stated that this argument is true only to some extent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, any vaccine can have side-effects, though they are minor and last only several days (“Making the Vaccine Decision” par. 1). However, the decision not to immunize a child involves much greater risk. It is not only an unvaccinated child who is at risk of having a disease but also other children who contact with such a child. Opponents of vaccination doubt the safety of vaccination, but their perception of side-effects does not correspond to reality.
Opponent’s Second Claim
Another argument used by proponents of anti-vaccination is that vaccines contain harmful ingredients that trigger serious illnesses. In particular, scientists claim that thimerosal, an organic mercury compound that is found in flu vaccine for children, can lead to the development of autism (Kern et al. 8). However, there is a number of studies that found no link between vaccination and an increased risk of autism, even for those who are at risk of having the disorder (Jain et al. 1539). Moreover, one could assume that the reason for such a faulty association between vaccines and autism is that autism generally develops at the age of 2-3 years when children are commonly vaccinated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the only childhood vaccines that contain thimerosal are flu vaccines (“Making the Vaccine Decision” par. 15). However, thimerosal is used as a preservative, and its amount is so tiny that it poses no threat. Still, minor reactions, such as redness and swelling, may occur.
Opponent’s Third Claim
One more argument used by opponents of anti-vaccination is that the government should not intervene in medical choices, and mandatory vaccination infringes upon religious freedoms (Pierik 381). It is thus assumed that parents of children are the only ones who can take decisions regarding the immunization of their children. The nature of such decisions is intimately personal, which is why they cannot be taken by the government. Also, there are religions that prohibit vaccination, and any infringement upon religious freedoms is unconstitutional (“First Amendment”). However, one could mention that parents may not have appropriate expertise to take such a decision and thus subject their child to the risk of acquiring vaccine-preventable infection. Speaking of religious freedom, there are states that allow individuals to apply for religious exemptions.
Author’s First Claim
Having looked at the opponents’ arguments, it is important to consider the arguments in favor of mandatory vaccination. Firstly, vaccination can save children’s lives and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Benefits of vaccination outweigh its potential risks and include child protection from contracting preventable diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Recommended Vaccinations by Age” par. 2). The number of these preventable diseases is vast and includes chickenpox, flu, rotavirus, rubella, whooping cough, and diphtheria. Because of vaccination, such diseases as smallpox and polio have been eradicated. According to the National Health Service, due to immunization, there has been a 99% reduction in cases of meningitis C among those aged under 20 (par. 13). Comparing to the twentieth century, the number of reported cases of diphtheria, measles, mumps, pertussis, rubella, and tetanus has decreased to 92-100% in 2016 (Orenstein and Ahmed 4032). Therefore, vaccination protect not only individuals but also the whole community from disease, thus avoiding its spread.
Author’s Second Claim
Secondly, it should be stated that the ingredients in vaccines are safe in the amounts used. Even though vaccines contain aluminum and formaldehyde, these chemical compounds are used in small dosages which do not have a negative effect on one’s health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Vaccines” par. 2). Also, vaccines that are routinely recommended by healthcare organization contain no thimerosal or only trace amounts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Vaccines” par. 5). Adverse reactions to vaccines are thus extremely rare and are mild in nature, such as allergic reactions. In order to ensure that vaccines and their ingredients are safe, vaccines are tested and regularly monitored by healthcare organizations before they are licensed.
Author’s Third Claim
Thirdly, vaccination is supported by a great number of major organizations. These organizations include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, Food and Drug Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, Public Health Agency of Canada, and National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main ingredients of vaccines are antigens that cause the body to develop immunity (“Making the Vaccine Decision” par. 14). All the ingredients of vaccines either help make a vaccine or ensure that it poses no threat to children’s health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Making the Vaccine Decision” par. 16). According to the World Health Organization, children should be regularly vaccinated since vaccines stimulate the body’s own immune system in order to protect a child from infections (par. 1). It can be seen that vaccination is widely supported by organizations due to its effectiveness and safety.
Conclusion
Based on all above-said, vaccination is a great cost-effective preventative health intervention. It is difficult to overestimate the value of immunization in preventing and controlling a vast number of infectious diseases. Effectiveness of vaccination programs has led to the absence of outbreaks of certain preventable diseases that had fatal consequences for previous generations. Not only does vaccination protect children from preventable infections but it also reduces the chances that other children will catch this infection. Safety of vaccines is reiterated by the safety of its ingredients and the necessity of official certification. It is thus important that parents vaccinate their children because their health and health of the community is at stake.
Hussain, Azhar, et al. “The Anti-Vaccination Movement: A Regression in Modern Medicine.” Cureus, vol. 10, no. 7, 2018, pp. 2919–2927.
Jain, Anjali, et al. “Autism Occurrence by MMR Vaccine Status Among US Children with Older Siblings with and Without Autism.” JAMA, vol. 313, no. 15, 2015, pp. 1534–1540.
Kern, Janet K., et al. “The Relationship Between Mercury and Autism: A Comprehensive Review and Discussion.” Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology, vol. 37, 2016, pp. 8–24.
Orenstein, Walter A., and Rafi Ahmed. “Simply Put: Vaccination Saves Lives.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114, no. 16, 2017, pp. 4031–4033.
Pierik, Roland. “Mandatory Vaccination: An Unqualified Defence.” Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 35, no. 2, 2016, pp. 381–398.