I admit that I'm pretty ignorant about this whole issue, but one thing always baffled me about it: If you and your own children are vaccinated against a disease, what difference does it make if someone else is not?
I mean: How is the public at large harmed if the Amish (or a Hasidic community, etc.) decide not to vaccinate their families? Isn't this something where the risk is entirely contained within the non-vaccinated groups?
It poses a threat to other people who are not vaccinated. If you have an entire community unvaccinated then you are setting up the conditions for an epidemic. And it also needs to be remembered that there are people who for medical reasons cannot be vaccinated. Those people are placed in extreme risk.
“If you and your own children are vaccinated against a disease, what difference does it make if someone else is not?”
It still makes a lot of difference to the society as a whole.
“herd protection”
Some people can not take the vaccine because of allergies. The injection of the vaccine presents serious medical problems to them. They exist and it is a very real problem for them.
If all others around them who can be inoculated are protected then the chance of the decease getting to them is very slight. They are literally protected by the immunity of the “herd” around them.
No vaccine is 100% effective. There will always be some people who don’t develop immunity. Also there are some people who can’t take vaccines for valid medical reasons.
Having communities of unvaccinated people is extremely dangerous. It creates a reservoir for the disease to continue to grow and mutate. It increases the likelihood the virus will mutate beyond the effectiveness of the vaccine. Also, vaccines are not 100% effective. Large numbers of vaccinated individuals are still at risk. I know, for example, the MMR vaccine does not create measles resistance in me, and about 30% of others as well.
When everyone gets vaccinated, it eliminates these reservoirs. It’s how we got rid of smallpox.
Any one who is immunocompromised by age or illness may have lower levels of immunity even when vaccinated.
People receiving chemotherapy are at risk.
Most infants under two are not fully vaccinated and are at risk.
Some people have allergies to some vaccines and will not be fully vaccinated.
People who have received organ transplants and take anti-rejection medications have lowered immune responses and their prior vaccinations may become ineffective as a result. They are at risk.
These small unique subsets of humanity are protected by the herd immunity developed by the vaccination of the healthy that prevent outbreaks and reduce their risk of exposure. This is also the same population that is at risk of death or serious debilitation in an actual outbreak.
Vaccinations protect the young, the sick and the old.
My understanding is that for people who are older or have not strong immune systems are at risk even if they were vaccinated as a child. This past spring I got the MMR vaccine just as a precaution. The pharmacist says I’m covered for life.
I also think with all the unvaccinated people streaming into the country with God knows what strains of diseases.....it becomes really scary.
Exactly.