Topic:
Type your responses directly on this file, ensuring that you are writing in complete sentences and fully covering each point. Save the file, and then submit it for this week’s assignment.
Step 1: Draft a current claim (thesis) statement.
Humanity has faced many threats to its survival; among these threats are diseases that have claimed millions of lives. To combat this problem, vaccines were invented and have since been used to eradicate different diseases. Many organizations like WHO and UNICEF have made a global effort to vaccinate the masses. With vaccines at the helm of medicine, many diseases can be cured and loss of life avoided.
Step 2: Check your claim statement. Is it arguable? That is, will there be people who disagree with it or pose an alternative position to it?
Anti-vaxxers are a group of people that do not believe in vaccines and have spread misinformation about them. These people claim that holistic treatment and religion can cure everything.
Step 3: Ask yourself “how” or “why” your claim is true. Using because statements, list three reasons to support your claim statement draft:
- Because vaccines build immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases by training the immune system to create antibodies against the diseases and over the years this immunization has helped in thwarting epidemics. Infectious diseases like mumps, influenza, whooping cough, etc. have been contained and diseases like polio and smallpox have been nearly eradicated.
- Because vaccines have helped in the survival of millions of children that would otherwise not have seen another day. Vaccines help build immunity in young children whose immune systems are weak and cannot combat diseases effectively.
- Because vaccines help in preventing the disease at the right time, if not for vaccines these diseases can become deadly, and trying to prevent them at a later stage can not only be extremely difficult but also expensive.
Step 4: How will you support your “because” statements? What information/evidence will you need to prove or explain?
- Support for Because statement #1: 2-3 million lives are being saved due to vaccines helping in building immunity in the human body to combat diseases. Many infectious diseases outbreaks have been prevented due to vaccines. Organizations like WHO and UNICEF have collected data over the years that backs up this claim (Goodman, n.d.).
- Support for Because statement #2: There has been a 28% decline in child mortality of children under 5 years since 1990 and this decline in mortality was observed after global vaccination efforts (Zuehlke, 2009).
- Support for Because statement #3: Data has been collected that shows that vaccines have contributed to economic growth, stability, and efficiency of the healthcare system (“The Economic Value of Vaccination,” 2015)
Step 5: In what ways might skeptics object to your reason? What are their worries or concerns or reasons why they are opposed to your position?
Anti-vaxxers do not understand the benefit of the vaccines and are concerned about their safety and side effects. Many uneducated or extremely religious people believe that vaccines are evil and are government conspiracy.
How will you refute or concede to this information?
There is a lot of data to back up the benefits of the vaccines, so the concerns of the Anti-vaxxers can be easily refuted by educating them properly about the vaccines.
References
Zuehlke, E. (2009, December 15). Child Mortality Decreases Globally and Immunization Coverage Increases, Despite Unequal Access. Retrieved August 3, 2021, from PRB: https://www.prb.org/resources/child-mortality-decreases-globally-and-immunization-coverage-increases-despite-unequal-access/
Goodman, S. (n.d.). Immunizations and Vaccines. WebMD. Retrieved August 3, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/children/vaccines/immunizations-vaccines-power-of-preparation
The Economic Value of Vaccination: Why Prevention is Wealth. (2015). Journal of Market Access & Health Policy, 3, 10.3402/jmahp.v3.29414. https://doi.org/10.3402/jmahp.v3.29414
