Vaccinations protect children and the public at large.
I spoke to a woman in her late sixties and asked her if she vaccinated all three of her children, who were born in the 1980s. When she told me that she had, I asked her why. She explained that she'd had measles, mumps, and rubella in her childhood and wouldn't wish those illnesses on her worst enemy. She then lifted up her sleeve to show me the remnants of the only vaccine she received in her youth: the circular scar of the smallpox vaccine. She recalled the children she went to school with who were left disabled by polio, as well as the pregnant mothers who fell ill with measles, who would later give birth to a child with defects.
While it's true that the cases of polio, measles, mumps, and rubella have declined, that doesn't mean that they have been eradicated as smallpox has. It's because of vaccines that the illnesses have been kept at bay.
The Anti-Vax movement poses a severe risk to populations, including but not limited to:
- Elderly
- Children under one year of age
- Individuals who have had an organ transplant
- Pregnant women
- Cancer patients
In 1998, in a now-redacted publication from a doctor who claimed there was a connection between vaccinations and autism, many parents shunned the injections believing that they weren't worth the risk. Perpetuated by social media, herd mentality, and celebrities with zero medical knowledge, the Anti-Vax movement gained enough steam to the point where our country is seeing a shocking uptick for an illness that could have easily been prevented.
Chart courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This is a major public health issue and even grown adults whose parents failed to vaccinate them as children are being hospitalized for contracting a preventable disease. So, vaccinate for the sake of those that come into contact with your child. Vaccinate for those who are at the mercy of a weakened immune system.
