Vaccinations have become very important for keeping us healthy from threatening illness.
Vaccines help prevent and fight off deadly illnesses like polio, smallpox, measles and whooping cough.
Without the creation of vaccines, the death rates in times of a medical crisis would keep skyrocketing with no intention of stopping, but for some reason, there is still an existing community that questions and protests against vaccinations despite the proven fact they help us stay healthy.
Dr. Mamta Jain, chair of the Department of Pediatrics of San Joaquin General Hospital, emphasizes the importance of yearly vaccinations to help prevent new and old illnesses from spreading.
“For more than 50 years, vaccinations have saved more than a billion lives and prevented countless illnesses and disabilities in the United States,” said Jain
The United States is a country where the community of anti-vaccinators is prominent and vocal with their belief that medical conditions like autism are caused by the vaccinations their children are required to take when growing up.
It seems as if there is a misconception with how vaccinations work because how is something that you are born with is given to you after you were born?
“Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection. This type of infection, however, almost never causes illness, but it does cause the immune system to produce T-lymphocytes and antibodies. Once the imitation infection goes away, the body is left with a supply of ‘memory’ T-lymphocytes, as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that disease in the future,” said Jain
With this global pandemic we are facing, the United States is witnessing people protesting in large numbers of groups against the stay at home orders that have been placed in order to protect everyone from the virus. These protests against the order shows that the protesters do not agree or care about the public health nor believe the severity COVID-19 has caused. This leaves the question; would anti-vaccers be required to take the COVID-19 vaccination if not willing to do so?
Whether it is a lifestyle choice, or your gullibility to a biased source; if you do not choose to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, a virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in less than four months, then you should be watched, and quarantined in your home until you choose to take the vaccination. It is a disservice for those who not only care about the state of public health, but also to our front line scientists, nurses and doctors who are currently fighting off this virus with their last line of defense during this time.
The fight for a cure is still going on. It is only a matter of time before we find an effective vaccination to help bring society back together. Nothing will ever be the same again once stay at home orders are lifted. For more information, and updates about the development of a COVID-19 vaccination, Jain suggests the following Nature article:
