Vaccination Myths and Their Realities

While most parents in the United States get their children properly vaccinated, there is a small but growing group of parents who believe the risk of disease from vaccination is just too big of a risk to take. In fact, an article from Catherine Heusel states that  "nearly 90%of kids in the United States are fully immunized against ailments that once killed thousands of children every year" (Heusel). This leaves a whole 10% of children that are not being vaccinated and are putting everyone else at risk for near deadly diseases. Ironically, parents are worried about their children developing health issues from receiving vaccinations, so they choose to take their chances. To help clarify some of the misconceptions that come with vaccinations, Heusel included several different myths about vaccines and the realities of them. 

One of the first myths Heusel discusses is the myth that "Since most children are already vaccinated, it's no big deal if a few kids aren't" (Heusel). Heusel debunks this myth by stating "Immunization doesn't protect just individual children." Unvaccinated children and adults are extremely at risk for harboring infections that could endanger individuals who are not able to get vaccinated or have allergic reactions to vaccinations. Unvaccinated individuals also put pregnant women and children under the age of 1 at a much higher risk of infection and disease. 

Another myth the Heusal discusses is the myth that "diseases such as diphtheria and polio have been wiped out in this country, so there's no point in vaccinating a child against a disease she's unlikely to get" (Heusel). The reality of this is that diseases never truly disappear. Just because a disease has not surfaced in a while, does not mean that it will not return. Also, a decrease in vaccination rates make it much easier for deadly diseases to resurface. As children stop being protected from these diseases, we will see more diseases return. 

To read more myths about vaccinations, visit Heusel's article here:
http://www.parents.com/health/vaccines/facts/vaccination-facts/