9 Reasons Why Vaccination Is Definitely A Thing You Should Do

8. Herd Immunity

Herd immunity basically means that if enough of the population are immunised against an infectious disease, this will protect those who can not be immunised. Notice how I said can not, rather than will not, as there is a difference between not getting vaccinated because you are very young, very old, have a compromised immune system, and not getting vaccinated because you still believe that it causes autism (because you apparently stopped reading things in 1998). Good herd immunity can stop and contain outbreaks before they spread. It's a bit like a forest fire - if the forest is made of tightly packed trees, the fire will spread like, well, wildfire. If there are regular breaks in the trees then the fire will be contained to one region. If just one tree in the middle of a field goes up in flames, a tree in the next field over will be fine. Vaccinated people represent the breaks in the trees, barriers for disease, whereas unvaccinated people provide pathways by which disease can spread. By not vaccinating through choice, anti-vaxxers are not only putting themselves or their children at risk, but also those who can't be vaccinated, whether they like it or not.