Let me start by saying this: I understand that you are scared. I understand that you are nervous. How could you not be? You heard that Susan's daughter was never the same after her vaccines. At least that's what her grandmother said last week at the PTA luncheon.

The horror stories and hearsay are enough to make anyone think twice. How could you ever forgive yourself if something happened, if something went wrong? You're a parent, and you've sworn to yourself that you are going to protect your child no matter what. That's the way it should be. No question.

Parents should be able to make decisions based on what they feel most comfortable with. When regarding things like schooling and nutrition, it is only right to let a parent choose what they believe is best for their child, but I have some news for you.

This was not your decision to make. Denying your child a vaccine is not a choice that you get to make because your child is not the only one affected.

Every day, your child goes off to school and plays with their friends. They hang out on the playground, share water bottles at recess and pick their boogers when they think no one is looking. Yes, you've taught them to wash their hands and not stick their fingers in their mouth, but they're kids. What can you do?

When your child inevitably gets the bout of strep throat that's been going around the school, you keep them home. You don't send them out off to recess to go play, and you don't send them to go study. That'd be ridiculous. You don't want to spread the virus further.

You make the rational decision to keep them home from school in order to protect your child and others around them.

Vaccination is the same concept. You vaccinate because it doesn't only influence your child, but it touches the lives of everyone your child interacts with. It's a matter of public health, not bougie hearsay.

The consequences are real and they apply to all of us. So, next time you're at the doctors office with the kicking and screaming love of your life, remember there's a reason we don't hear about polio and measles anymore. I'd like to keep it that way.