It's no secret that vaccines are one of the most effective forms of disease prevention that mankind has devised. The body's immune system already represents an extraordinary and complex protection, but in a world of emerging and rapidly evolving pathogens, vaccines help support and sustain a healthy immune system by stimulating the adaptive immune system. Especially during infancy and childhood, when the immune system may be too weak to fend off rampant microorganisms that can easily affect the child's development, vaccines are an effective method to prepare and strengthen the immune system's production and awareness. Despite the obvious advantages of vaccination, the treatment method is hotly contested. In a recent statement from the World Health Organization (WHO), “vaccination has significantly reduced the burden of infectious diseases. Only clean water, also considered a basic human right, achieves better results. Paradoxically, a vociferous anti-vaccine lobby thrives today, despite the undeniable success of vaccination programs against once fearful and now rare diseases in developed countries” (WHO, 2015). This raises the question: why do vaccines encounter resistance and opposition? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Some of the most famous claims about the risks of vaccinations have to do with harmful side effects. In an article on vaccine side effects, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that “any vaccine can cause side effects. In most cases, they are mild (for example, a pain in the arm or a mild fever) and disappear within a few days” (CDC, 2015). These side effects are to be expected because “vaccines consist of killed or modified microbes, parts of microbes, or microbial DNA that trick the body into thinking an infection has occurred” and therefore stimulate a response similar to a real infection (Prevention , 2015 ). Claims proposing a connection between vaccinations and developmental disorders, such as autism and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, are common, however in my research and study I have found no reliable or scientifically sound studies showing a connection between these two or any other combination of vaccination and disease. Similarly, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee, an independent body of experts who have no conflicts of interest with pharmaceutical companies or organizations that make vaccine recommendations, studied a possible MMR-autism link and found no evidence to support such a connection” (AAP, 2015). For various reasons vaccines are fought, but a greater health risk is found in refusing and refusing vaccination. Vaccinations are routinely offered during childhood, the preliminary stages of immune system development. In comparison, the immune systems of vaccinated children fight disease better than children without vaccinations, the New York State Department of Health (NYDH) claims that “a child's immune system is more vulnerable without vaccinations. And if it weren't for vaccinations, many children could become seriously ill or even die from diseases like measles, mumps, and whooping cough, which are diseases that, thanks to vaccines, are almost, if not completely non-existent (NYDH, 2015). However, the effects of avoiding the.