Edible Vaccines Edible vaccines created from genetically engineered

Edible Vaccines Edible vaccines created from genetically engineered plants with proteins to act as oral vaccines, these are very low-cost and safe according to Charles J. Arntzen in his article “Edible Vaccines. ” Science has recently learned of the body’s major immunity defense line—the “mucous surfaces of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital tracts and of the conjunctiva; ” The oral vaccines would stimulate these mucous surfaces to perform the actions of a typical syringe administered vaccine—cause the body to act as it would to the real disease and thereby strengthening its ability to react to the real disease if it is encountered (Arntzen). The food can become the vaccine when a pathogen gene is introduced into the food, such that the food itself begins to imitate aspects of the pathogen—a subunit vaccine is created and will not cause the disease from which it is meant to protect the patient, because the food source containing the pathogen only contains one subunit of the pathogen gene (Arntzen). “Today we can introduce foreign genes into almost all major food crops, and these genes are faithfully passed on to future generations [of plants] (Arntzen). Such technology will allow even people of poor countries, who might not otherwise be able to obtain the typical doctor administered vaccine, to be vaccinated through this inexpensive method (Arntzen). This would save countless lives from the devastation of a disease we take for granted such as the measles or smallpox which have become seemingly eradicated due to routine vaccinations preventing the beginning and spread of an outbreak in the United States for many years. This again reinforces the idea of crowd immunity, as a global whole. No matter what financial standing, class, status, group, etc. a person belongs to each needs to be vaccinated to protect the human race. Vaccines History: How Suspicions Grow By: Cody Croan 1922: Smallpox vaccination causes outbreak of encephalitis (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2009. Early studies). 1953: Measles seen to attack the central nervous system revealing a growing allergic reaction to measles and the measles vaccine (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2009. Early studies). 1980’s: A scientific journal called The Lancet paper by Andrew Wakefield recorded twelve children had a loss of “language and basic skills” and behavior symptoms occurring only fourteen days after the MMR (Deer, B. 2010. Nailed…). This paper’s claims caused United Kingdom vaccinations rates to drop, which allowed measles to set into the society, and this paper also spawned the “epidemic of autism” controversy and subsequently undermined all other vaccines, causing them to be suspicious in the eyes of parents and other adults in America (Deer, B. 2010. Nailed…). However, it has been discovered that Andrew Wakefield bent the data for the side effects listed in The Lancet paper were different than those documented in the children’s’ hospital records (Deer, B. 2009. MMR doctor …). Conclusions: Vaccines have not earned the suspicion that they have gained over the past decade due to bad science. Studies and opinions serve as proof that there is no need to suspect any vaccine as the cause of any major disease such as MMR causing autism. Of course, that is not to say there will never be any relationship between a vaccine and a disease, but as of now there is no evidence to prove that vaccines are main causes of debilitating diseases. As Dr. Fuller, Brenda, and Mary stated it is safer to be vaccinated than to go unvaccinated for going without could mean death for one’s self or others. Especially with new technologies such as edible vaccines we do not need to fear them but keep a watchful eye on their production to ensure good vaccines are making it onto the market and the bad are discarded. I am confident that countries just now receiving these cheaper edible vaccines, beginning a relief of disease in those countries, would agree that it is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it. Vaccines are not panaceas, but they have come a long way with research. Medicine claims no panacea, and vaccines along with all other types of medication must be taken with caution and understanding of consequences. As generations come and go, new strains of viruses will emerge and dictate the old vaccine as outdated and useless in defense against the new virus. That does not mean vaccines are useless overall, just that a new one must be created to combat the new virus strains. Patients must be informed of possible sideeffects and reactions so that they may respond accordingly to them. They also must understand that the vaccine that they are taking could subsequently cause the virus instead of prevent it, but they must also understand the probability of such an occurrence for them individually. Again, it is much easier to prevent than it is to treat a disease. Pros: There are many reasons for children and adults to get vaccinated. They include the various modes of administration of the vaccines, controlling epidemics and outbreaks of devastating disease, and the fact that most patients will have no reaction or a minor one, if that. An interview with Dr. Kathleen Fuller, professor of Anthropology here at Park University, reveals a personal encounter with the reality of the diseases vaccines can prevent. “The polio vaccine came out the year I was born, but I was too young to get it, so I ended up with a mild case of polio (my legs didn't work for several months) that last bad polio summer before the vaccination program led to the end of polio epidemics” (Fuller). Society and individuals have a great responsibility for vaccination; “crowd immunity helps prevent disease in babies too young to be vaccinated or those whose immunity is too compromised for vaccinations” (Fuller). If those who are old enough to be vaccinated to certain disease are, then it protects those unable to be vaccinated because the disease will then not exist within the vaccinated society or community. “I was lucky. Many children in my age bracket died or were disabled by these diseases which now vaccination can prevent” (Fuller). Having not been infected with or seeing the devastation of the diseases now preventable with vaccines, younger generations believe that it is unnecessary to get vaccinate, and these people fail to realize that it only takes one exposure to such a virus for it to infect one’s self; then, that one person becomes the carrier to others indefensible to the disease, especially such as children who are not of age to receive the needed vaccine. People fear the side-effects of vaccines to be great. Yet, such as with the MMR vaccine, such claims of horrific side effects tend to go unfounded. This fear, imbedded by social media’s hype of the subject, most likely caused more outbreaks of measles, mumps, and rubella which could have been prevented had the media not agreed with un-reproduced, false claims that the MMR vaccine caused autism (Deer, B. 2010. Nailed…). The media grabs after the most provocative “news” of the world to inactivate its listeners, yet the media does not realize the real harm it causes by not making itself a truly reliable source of information. Brenda of Park University’s Nursing Program states that “flu vaccine prevents hospital stays, or if they [the patient getting the vaccine] do get the flu it is more mild; the symptoms are more mild. Working in the health field, it also helps prevent form taking the flu back home to the family” (Brenda). This goes back to the idea of crowd immunity mentioned by Dr. Fuller. If one person gets the disease they are able to take it and infect not only one social community but all communities they live in—such as their work, home, and friends’ homes. However, if a person does get vaccinated, such as with the flu vaccine, they are more likely not to get the virus his or her self, but if it is contracted it will not be nearly as bad as if he or she had not been vaccinated. The benefits of vaccination outweigh the consequences of going unvaccinated. Allergy scares are a common weapon the media may use against the use of vaccines—most stem from the belief of the various additives used to trigger the immune system’s response to the vaccine (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2008. Vaccines: the DPT Vaccine…). However, reactions are rare and the worst cases that Brenda has seen in her work are “an inflammation of the patient’s skin. ” According to Mary, an RN in the Nursing Program at Park University, any study of vaccines to prove that a disease is caused by a specific vaccine have yielded no standing ground to make vaccines suspicious and preventing the contraction of the flu, or any other vaccine-preventable disease, is “better safe than sorry” (Mary). Dr. Fuller stated in her interview that “the harm (disability and death) from the disease is real. The harm from the additives is speculative. ” Also, over the past few years such additives as thimerosal have been taken out of pediatric vaccines (Parsell). This reveals that the government and medical entities are watching for harmful substances and do respond appropriately when consequences are proven with evidence rather than mere speculation. There also combination vaccines which decrease the amount of visits to the doctor’s office and the pain a patient must endure with multiple shots (Halsey), and without combination vaccines “children would need 68 or 69 injections by 6 years of age to receive the recommended doses of currently recommended vaccines…We now administer these…with only 18 -23 injections, depending on which combination products are used” (Halsey). This also decreases the patients’ exposure to waiting rooms that may be full of patients already sick with the disease, something simple as the flu, which means they could be infected before they get the vaccine making it harder for the vaccine to work properly. Cons: Works Cited Anon. 2010. Live, intranasal influenza vaccine: what you need to know 2010 -11. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anon. 2010. Who should not get vaccinated with these vaccines? [Online]. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available: http: //www. cdc. gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-notvacc. htm#flu Arntzen, C. J. 1997. Edible vaccines. Public Health Reports (1974 -) 112 (3): 190 -197. Brenda. Personal interview [Health in the Park Fair at Park University Academic Underground, Flu and Cold booth]. 9 Nov. 2010. Deer, B. 2009. MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism [Online]. Available: http: //www. timesonline. co. uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article 5683671. ece Deer, B. 2010. Nailed: Dr Andrew Wakefield and the MMR - autism fraud [Online]. Available: http: //briandeer. com/mmr/lancet-summary. htm Fuller, Kathleen. Personal interview [e-mail]. 15 Nov. 2010. Halsey, N. A. 2001. Combination vaccines: defining and addressing current safety concerns. Clinical Infectious Diseases 33 (Supplement 4, International Symposium on Combination Vaccines: Proceedings of a Symposium Organized and Sponsored by the National Vaccine Program Office and Held at the National Institutes of Health, 2 -4 February 2000): S 312 -S 318. Mary. Personal interview [Health in the Park Fair at Park University Academic Underground, Flu and Cold booth]. 9 Nov. 2010. Mehl-Madrona, L. 2008. Vaccines: the DPT Vaccine, the DPT Vaccine and brain damage, the DPT Vaccine and Autism [Online]. Available: http: //www. healing-arts. org/children/vaccines-dpt. htm Mehl-Madrona, L. 2009. Early studies on vaccine risks and complications [Online]. Available: http: //www. healingarts. org/children/vaccines/#How Mehl-Madrona, L. 2009. How could children's vaccines cause damage [Online]. Available: http: //www. healingarts. org/children/vaccines/#How Parsell, D. 2004. Assault on Autism. Society for Science & the Public. 166 (20): 311 -312. Vaccines are not always to be suspect, but some come with warnings; such warnings to patients are age limits, neuro-toxic materials/additives, allergies, and contracting the disease the vaccine is meant to prevent or other serious side effects. There also concerns about combination vaccines being too many combined into one shot. A “live or attenuated virus vaccination” may actually cause the virus in the patient rather than protect the patient from the disease (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2009. How could…). This appears as a concern of vaccines for the media and public, but it is especially so concerning the influenza live vaccine. The CDC lists that people of fifty years and older or children six months to two years of age should not receive the live vaccine, but the inactivated vaccine is perfectly alright for these patients (Anon. 2010. Who should not get vaccinated…). People with a weak immune system, heart disease, lung disease metabolic disease, asthma, anemia, kidney or liver disease, pregnant women, severely ill patients, and children on long-term aspirin treatments should not take the live influenza vaccine either (Anon. 2010. Who should not get vaccinated…). This vaccine is actually intended mostly for those in close contact with weak immune systems, so that the one getting the live vaccine may have a stronger immune system to the disease than those taking the inactivated vaccine thus making it much harder for them to transmit the disease to a person with a weak immune system (Anon. 2010. Live, intranasal influenza vaccine). Also, if one is allergic to eggs she or he cannot get the vaccine, but so too is having an allergy to any component of the vaccine itself (Anon. 2010. Who should not get vaccinated…). This can be disturbing to patients because they may not know they have an allergy to a certain substance in a vaccine until they get it and by then it might be too late. Also, those with weak immune systems, who are already sick, or have an allergy preventing them from getting the flu vaccine themselves, must rely on the unreliable responsibility of others to get themselves vaccinated to create communal immunity—it only takes one unvaccinated contact to contract the flu or any other disease. Vaccines are always changing and adapting to their new environments, their human hosts and their anti-bodies. Thus, each year the flu vaccine must be re-made to work on the latest strains of the influenza virus (Anon. 2010. Live, intranasal influenza vaccine). This means that every year one needs to visit the doctor’s office to get the new and up-dated shot further increasing one’s exposure to the place where flu can be most common—the waiting room where sick children have touched many surfaces and one does not know what has been cleaned and has not. Even being vaccinated means one could still get the disease, such as with the flu vaccine or one may have a reaction to the vaccine such as runny nose, cough, fever, headache and muscle aches, wheezing in children two years old to seventeen years old, and life-threatening reactions may occur but only within a few minutes or a few hours after the vaccination has been administered (Anon. 2010. Live, intranasal influenza vaccine). There are extra substances in vaccines that may cause allergic reactions or otherwise irritate the body’s immune system in a negative way. “Adjuvants” cause the antibody production to cause one’s immune system to react to a vaccine as if it were the real virus so that it might later have a stronger response to the actual virus when encountered (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2008. Vaccines: the DPT Vaccine…). One such substance is thimerosal which may cause an increase in the actions of the virus and the immune system’s response and may in fact damage neurological membranes (Mehl-Madrona, L. 2008. Vaccines: the DPT Vaccine…). This again leads one to the curiosity of what substances vaccines contain that may be harmful rather than helpful to virus prevention. This may be a concern especially for parents of children receiving an injection for the first time, not knowing substances their child may have a reaction towards which may be contained within the vaccine as an adjuvant meant to help start the vaccine process, but end up damaging instead.