Is "sorry" going to be enough when your pregnant daughter gets rubella, or when she calls to tell you that she has cervical cancer because YOU decided she didn’t need those vaccines? What about when your son is told he cannot have kids because he had mumps as a child or when he gives the flu to his cancer-stricken grandmother and she dies because YOU thought vaccines were not safe?

The topic of vaccinations has always been a controversial topic. Most “anti-vaccine” parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children solely on misinterpreted, false, or media “facts.” Vaccinations have been around for many years and there are THOUSANDS of studies conducted looking at vaccines from all angles; this includes the combination of vaccines. Here are a few reasons you SHOULD vaccinate your child:

Vaccinations are not harmful. Many mothers today have the mindset that vaccinating their children is harmful and causes more damage than good, but that is not the case. Like car seats and seatbelts, the benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risk, although the risk is not 0. Vaccines are tested extensively before being put on the market. In a 2002 manuscript, Dr. Paul Offit and his colleages estimated that infants can respond to 10,000 vaccines at one time; 11 vaccines at one time will only compromise 0.1 percent of the immune system’s attention. The benefits FAR OUTWEIGH the risks. Vaccinations do NOT cause autism. A British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, observed that of 12 children he was treating for a bowel disease, 6 were autistic. Those same 6 have received the MMR vaccine and he made the conclusion that the vaccine was the cause and published it; however, it was based only on observations and many scientific studies have recently proven that vaccines and autism have no correlation.

Unvaccinated children are more likely to catch a disease. A child without vaccinations is 23x more likely to get whooping cough and 35x more likely to get measles. Life-threatening diseases are easily transmittable. It only takes one plane ride for an out of country disease to enter the U.S. and cause an outbreak. Since the vaccine hit the market in 1955, Polio has become extremely rare, much like other diseases, once vaccines were available.

Although diseases have not gone away, because of the parents who choose to vaccinate their children, rare and deadly diseases and illnesses are held in check. Although no vaccine is 100% effective, high vaccination rates allow for herd immunity. Herd immunity (general immunity based on the acquired immunity by a high proportion of a population) is common among some people. The TDAP vaccination is important for pregnant women to get 27-37 weeks into pregnancy to protect their child against whooping cough, which can cause an infant irreversible brain damage. An un-immunized child can spread a disease to those too young to be vaccinated and also those with medical exemptions, such as children and patients with cancer. An infant cannot receive the MMR vaccine until around the time they are about 12 months old. Cancer patients undergoing treatment have a low immune system and cannot receive certain vaccinations. What will you tell your grandmother when she gets TB because YOU decided that vaccines were unsafe? You are taking advantage of those who cannot be vaccinated by exposing them to potentially harmful diseases. Saying “It is my child, I will do what I want” is not parenting, it’s taking ownership of your child.

Have you ever had polio, TB, or diphtheria? No? Well thank your parents for vaccinating you.