Many medical professionals say that the vaccine was one of the best medical advances ever created. The invention of the vaccine eradicated polio from the United States and made smallpox completely extinct. Every year it is estimated that children who join the vaccination program prevent 42,000 deaths and twenty million infections (Timmer). However, rates of intentionally unvaccinated children are increasing. Parents are fueled by fears that vaccines are unsafe and are pressured to opt out of the vaccination program based on misinformation. Despite the misinformation spread among parents, parents should not refrain from vaccinating their children because vaccines are a safe and effective way to protect against diseases. Opponents of immunization via vaccines date back to the production of the vaccine itself; however these early opponents used religious beliefs to support their point. When smallpox was an epidemic in the 1700s, it was discovered that cowpox disease could create immunity to smallpox. As gruesome as smallpox was, the naysayers were still there. Anti-vaccinationists would cite passages from the Bible to make their case – most specifically Job 2:7, which states: “Then he departed from the presence of the Lord, and afflicted Job with boils, from the sole of his foot unto his veins. crown!" Smallpox was believed to be a form of "divine judgment" and that inoculation and vaccine scars were "the mark of the beast" (Mnookin 25). While there were naysayers, there will always be those who take sides in favor of vaccination. . In fact, a Puritan minister preached that inoculation was a “gift from God.” Ultimately, due to rigorous vaccination programs and adherence to vaccinations p...... half of the paper ......cines." Should vaccinations be mandatory? Ed. Roman Espejo. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014 .In question. from "Busting the Anti-Vaccine Epidemic." Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science 12 (Fall 2011). 2014.Mnookin, Seth. The Panic Virus: The Real Story Behind the Vaccine and Autism Controversy New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. Print.Timmer, John “Widespread Vaccine Exemptions Compromise Herd Immunity.” Rpt. in Should vaccinations be mandatory? Ed. Roman Espejo, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Web Context. July 17, 2014. Offit, Paul A.. Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print.Wakefield, Andrew. MMR vaccination and autism." The Lancet 354: 949-950. Print.