Why We Should Vaccinate Ourselves And Our Children Analysis

Vital Vaccines Ian Henschke, author of the article “Why We Should Vaccinate Ourselves and Our Children,” had a very personal reason to ensure his children are vaccinated. Whenever his first child was born, Henschke’s mother revealed to him that he actually had an older brother, Bill, he had never met. His mother told him the story of Bill as she pulled out a picture of him taking his first steps in the Botanical Gardens, which happened to be taken the day before he passed away from Influenza type B. She then pleaded he always vaccinate his children with the miracle vaccines that were not available to her when Bill was born. Henschke took the plea to heart and now always vaccinates his kids and carries around a picture of Bill to remind them
This is because high vaccination rates create herd immunity for the population (Hand 1). Herd immunity protects members of the general population who cannot be immunized because of weakened immune systems or other conditions. This is because herd immunity limits diseases from existing in the general population so people who do not have vaccines, are not exposed to them. However, vaccination rates must be above 95 percent in order to provide stable herd immunity (Pearson 1). This is why it is necessary for vaccinations to be widely administered to the population to keep the herd immunity active. The only way for this to be achieved is through government mandated vaccinations. The government is required to provide for the public good and herd immunity is a very important public good (Michailidou 2). If the government does not require and enforce vaccinations, then the herd immunity will be lost and cause harm. The only way the government can protect citizens with vulnerable immune systems is by immunizing all healthy citizens. It would also create unsafe environments in schools if children weren't required to be vaccinated before
Clay Marsh, vice president of the department of health sciences at West Virginia University, states, “If you are under the age of 50 years, you probably don’t know anyone who has had measles, mumps, or rubella. And so you haven’t seen the birth defects, hearing loss, paralysis and death that can result from these diseases” (Hand 1). These diseases used to instill fear in children and parents throughout the world with their contraction having life altering effects. In today’s world however, vaccines have effectively eradicated these diseases (Hand 1). One of the most important eradication was that of the polio virus. The vaccine took the number of polio cases from tens of thousands to virtually none in a mere decade of use (Nemitz 1). This quick acting vaccine effectively saved thousands of lives. There are now zero cases of polio in the US every year (“Vaccinations Save Lives” 1). This disease that once instilled fear in people all over the world is now barely even talked about. Along with Polio, measles has also been eliminated from prevalence in the US population. One person with the measles virus can infect over a dozen individuals extremely quickly (Hotez 1). While many US citizens cannot see the destructive power of the fast spreading