Public Square "Vaccinations...Maybe?"

Since their inception, so many years ago, vaccinations have been saving countless lives by preventing the horrible diseases of the past. However, in our recent years, it appears that vaccinating children (which were at one point considered a godsend) has been deemed harmful and unnecessary for our society by many individuals. Those educated in the sciences, and well versed in how these inoculations function, would be able to attest to the enormous benefit to vaccinations and the horrible consequences of opting out of receiving vaccinations. The problem lies with those, who are unfamiliar with vaccinations, and learn about them through sources like the Internet, or through friends, or by word of mouth via non-healthcare professionals. 

Getting information about vaccinations through the Internet can be frightening. However, looking up one's own diagnoses on WebMD is also frightening. This is because the people using WebMD often have no idea what they are doing, as they are not trained to understand the various ailments that can befall the body. Individuals who use WebMD, will often self diagnose themselves as having several different types of the worst diseases imaginable, when they may only have bad indigestion. The fact is that using the Internet to get information on vaccinations can be extremely beneficial, when obtained and studied by someone who understands the process and concept of vaccinations. The fact is that most individuals do not understand how vaccinations work, which causes them to develop false notions about vaccinations, while only reading the bad effects they have, and automatically discredit them as useless and more harm than good. 

One of the factors that helps contribute to people being quick to discredit vaccinations, are the fact that so many of the diseases that once plagued our land have been completely eradicated. People simply do not see the horrible diseases that the vaccinations are attempting to prevent, because the vaccinations are doing their jobs! The horrible truth is that as more individuals opt out of giving their children their necessary vaccinations, the herd immunity that we enjoy as a society from deadly diseases, will start to weaken and break, eventually leading to outbreaks of diseases we have not seen in years, like TB, Typhoid Fever, the Bubonic Plague etc. When we think about the immense harm and horrible diseases that would come about if people continue to opt out of obtaining vaccinations, it is easy to that getting the vaccination is far more beneficial than it is harmful. So then, if people are not ensuring that their children are getting vaccinations because of illegitimate fears, should the government be allowed to force them to receive their vaccinations? For the safety of our society, I would say yes, however, forcing individuals to do anything aside from pay taxes seems a bit difficult to do. Therefore, since these individuals cannot be forced, it is imperative that they receive proper education on vaccinations, how they actually function, and their immense benefit to society. After being educated on the importance of vaccinations, it seems improbable that individuals would opt out of receiving them, especially since they do so much good.