Today I’m going to take some time to tell you what we should all already know and then give you my (well informed and science backed) opinion.
Vaccines are good and you should have them, and if you don’t, you are a danger to the community. I’m not saying this to be mean or controversial, I’m saying it because it’s true, and it’s true because of a something called herd immunity.
Some people claim that they don’t “believe” in herd immunity; I would say that those people are wrong. Herd immunity is a theory, which is the closest word to “fact” in the science language. It can be seen around the globe in people and it can be repeated with mathematical computer simulations. It’s a logical and constantly observable idea.
I would like to believe the nonbelievers are simply confused about how herd immunity works, so I’m going to try and explain it with an analogy. Note that the analogy is imperfect, but it gives a pretty good idea.
Imagine that you have the opportunity to take a self-defence class. If you take the class, there is a very small risk you may get injured. While very unlikely, there is even a very small chance that you could die. Let’s pretend that you decide not to take it.
On a journey to your favorite restaurant you run into a mugger. You fight back the best you can, but the mugger stays and continues to beat you up, thankfully allowing you with the capability to walk around, for now.
It doesn’t stop with that, as you walk around trying to get stuff done in the day, everyone you come into contact with starts to get beaten up by one of the mugger’s friends, and everyone they come into contact with gets beaten up by their mugger’s friends!
Now, if there’s enough people who have taken the self-defence class, the number of muggers who get the chance to call their friends before being beaten up is very small.
If, however, only one person has taken the class, the problem will spread very quickly, and while that person has taken the necessary steps to fight off the muggers, they can’t fight off more than a few muggers at a time. If not enough people have taken the self-defence class, even the people who have won’t be safe.
That’s the way vaccines work. If a certain ratio between vaccinated and unvaccinated people isn’t maintained every single person is at risk. Unvaccinated people who don’t get diseases are being protected by the people around them who are vaccinated.
Unfortunately, this protection is meant for children too young and people with health problems. Everyone else getting a free ride is simply a hazard. People choosing to remain unvaccinated and to keep in their kids from getting vaccinated are, at best, naive and uninformed, and at worst, murderers.
It’s not a personal choice, it’s a choice that affects every person that comes into contact with them. We can keep people from dying from diseases like polio, typhoid and measles easily.
Do your part by staying up to date on your vaccines and by making sure that the people around you are properly informed. It’s not a joke or a light decision. It’s the lives of everyone you know and care about.
