There is an epidemic of anti-vaccination that is running rampant in the united states. Parents are deciding that rather than vaccinating their children, it would be better to not vaccinate. The repercussions of not vaccinating children are very drastic. Children who are not vaccinated have a chance to contract a Vaccine Preventable Disease(VPD). Also, there is a high chance for VPDs to transfer to infants and others with a weakened immune system. This will give the diseases and viruses that we thought are insignificant at this day a chance to make a resurgence. Imagine a world where no one vaccinated their child and disease was rampant throughout the globe. That thought of the strife, disease-ridden world and a very low average lifespan alone will put fear to many people.
Given that not vaccinating children has shown to have terrible results, it begs the question, “ Why do parents still not vaccinate their children?” The main reason for parents to be anti-vax is because of common misconceptions strewn together by family, religion, news and other influential sources. There are many religious objections to vaccines. One of the biggest objections is that many religious scientists rely on praying over their trust in vaccines. They feel that God is the best and the only way to get out of illness. Also this mentality of prayer for healing is further supported by religious devotees who enforce it onto their families. Another reason for the result and strive of the anti-vax movement is because of the effect the news and other social media outlets have on them. There are a lot of doctored research that claim that vaccinations are linked to getting a gastrointestinal disease and also make children develop onset symptoms of behavioral disorders such as autism. When people see “proven research” and don’t do further research, their knowledge is limited to only the “research.” This is very dangerous because when the information that the author says is factual is actually not, it spreads lies to the reader and convinces them to make a terrible decision. The last main reason why parents do not vaccinate their children and themselves is mainly because they don’t believe that vaccines work. They seem very skeptical that putting a virus into someone to kill said virus seems very unnerving to some people.
The use of media as well as religion are some of the main reasons why parents do not vaccinate their children and themselves. The repercussions of not vaccinating is very serious to not just them, but for all the people who live on the earth. A world where disease has a possibility of running rampant should never have a chance of occurring. The only way of stopping that is by vaccinating.
About the Author:
Shreyas Rangan is a rising senior in high school. He aspires to be in the hematology field.
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/cultural-perspectives-vaccination