Why it is essential that you vaccinate your children
Taylor Medeiros ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITOR
Photo: THE IMMUNIZATION PARTNERSHIP
Dear Parents Against Vaccinations,
As Western medicine evolves and becomes more accessible, affordable, and accurate, many parents have taken advantage of this by having their children vaccinated against polio, mumps, and the chicken pox. These are just a few common vaccinations among countless others that are offered to protect our society. However, you have decided to opt out of vaccinating your children due to the fear of complications and the belief that they’re ‘unnatural’ or may ultimately harm your family.
To not vaccinate your children is to be truly selfish. Children who are not vaccinated have a much higher likelihood of transmitting diseases. In fact, due to this new fad of not vaccinating children, there was a mumps outbreak in Toronto from December 2017 to February 2018. The mumps have not been a major issue in our society in decades, yet has reoccurred due to parents refusing vaccinations. So, not only do you put your own child at risk of death by these diseases, you also risk the lives of other children, adults, and the elderly.
Aside from the selfishness associated with not vaccinating your children, many parents believe that vaccinations cause autism. Apart from the fact that this myth has never been scientifically proven, it has also been debunked. According to Immunize Canada, vaccinations do not cause autism. Vaccinations are meant to prevent illness, and would not be administered if this was possible.
Even if vaccinations did cause autism — which they do not — why would your child being autistic be worse than your child being dead? Children who are autistic are still children who deserve to be loved, cared for, and have a life. They are still people. Children who are not vaccinated risk death. You would have no child with whom to love, care for, and share life.
Your fear of vaccines may have been fueled in part by the media. Dozens of websites post alarming information about the risks of vaccines. As you have probably heard, and told your own children before, “Do not trust everything you read on the internet.” The internet is a free space where extremists take advantage of the fearful. Educate yourselves by visiting a clinic, your family doctor, or reading Immunize Canada.
There is a reason that vaccination laws are present in Canada and the United States. There is a reason your child must be vaccinated to attend school. As a parent, you have to make the right and responsible decisions for your children. So, listen to your doctor, the hospital, and the news. A baby does not have a say in whether they want to risk contracting, or spreading, a life-threatening illness. You do.
By choosing vaccinations, you are choosing for your child to live carefree from mumps, chicken pox, polio, and other diseases. You are choosing for your child to be among the millions saved from death and disfiguring illnesses. You are choosing for your child to not have to worry about playing on the playground, going to school, and making friends. You are choosing to have a peace of mind that your children can live their life as children, without fear of contracting a fatal illness. Vaccinations better the lives of your family members and society.
Vaccinate your children.
Kindest regards,
A Student For Vaccinations
