The Vaccine QuestionWhen children are born and for the first two years of their lives, they receive multiple vaccine shots and drops. These vaccines protect them from contracting diseases that were deadly and common in children many decades ago. The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements in the history of medicine. There have been thousands of lives lost in the battle against some terrifying diseases like smallpox and polio. Now, after years of vaccine invention, vaccination has spread to many countries and has helped eradicate several diseases. In the United States, every family is required to show their children's vaccination records to be accepted into many educational institutions. Parents usually find themselves having to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children at birth. Knowing how vaccines are made and their mechanism for preventing disease, as well as the process they go through to be approved for public use, can help parents make the choice whether to vaccinate their children. The history of the vaccine began with the spread of the smallpox disease. Smallpox was a contagious disease and spread rapidly, leaving permanent scars on patients' faces or, even worse, taking their lives. At that time, there were several attempts to cure and prevent smallpox, but Edward Jenner played the most important role in eliminating smallpox. “Jenner's work represented the first scientific attempt to control an infectious disease through the deliberate use of vaccination.” (“Conclusion” 1,2). Nowadays statistics show a significant reduction in cases of infectious diseases after widespread vaccination. There were 63,000 pneumococcal cases among children in the United States each year. After vaccination begins, cases reduce… half of paper… one item so that they can use it to their advantage; the human mind is one of these elements. The invention of the vaccine solved a problem that man had been suffering from for a long time. “Childhood vaccines are one of the great triumphs of modern medicine. Indeed, parents whose children are vaccinated no longer have to worry about their child's death or disability due to whooping cough, polio, diphtheria, hepatitis or a number of other infections.” (Ezekiel J. Emanuele, 1). Vaccines have helped humanity for many years to eliminate diseases that disfigured, disabled and many times took lives. Children who are not vaccinated not only risk themselves by being an easy target for disease, but also harm everyone around them. Ultimately, today's children are the fuel of the future. Every parent should think carefully before taking any risk that could harm the next generation.