Vaccination opposition is not a new concept— ever since the invention of vaccines, there have been those who deny them.

Even though the medicinal breakthrough of vaccinations has been thought of as one of the most significant achievements of the 20th century, there are indeed people out there who continue to oppose them.

How does it even make sense to deny something that is meant to keep a person alive?

The human race has a natural instinct to survive. Yet, some people blatantly deny this instinct and put themselves at risk for infections and diseases that we have the power to prevent.

And why? I think is exactly the question that arises in the brain of the common man against anti-vaxxer views.

Because apparently diseases were already disappearing before vaccines due to better hygiene and sanitation? Proven false. Or maybe because they think that certain vaccines such as the MMR vaccine causes autism as a side effect… also false, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Which also brings me to my next point: vaccines are used to prevent disease and are typically given at a young age to prevent illnesses that used to plague the childhood years. So why are anti-vaxxers worried about something they “could” obtain over the course of their lives, when without vaccines, they have quite a high chance that they will not even make it there in the first place?

Not to mention, not only are anti-vaxxers putting themselves at a major risk, but they also put all of those around them at risk. Once thought of as eradicated, illnesses such as the measles, mumps, polio, whooping cough, and rubella are springing back up. According to the CDC when it come to measles, since 2008 the number of outbreaks has increased to 53 and counting. Something even more terrifying is that since the first of the new year, there have been more than 268 cases of measles in 15 different states. There is no excuse for a disease to have a comeback when we already have the ability to prevent it.

However, the thing that makes the least amount of sense about this whole argument is the fact that parents have all the power to make the decision about whether or not their child receives vaccinations. Even if that child wants them, they don’t even have a chance to do anything about it until they have reached legal age.

In the State of Indiana a school child may not be required to undergo any immunization when the child’s parent objects on the grounds of religious reasons.  A religious objection must be first made in writing, then signed by the child’s parent, and finally delivered to the child’s teacher or to the individual who might order an immunization. Medical exemptions are also allowed.

It is obvious that some parents are pulling the “religion” card when in fact they do not actually practice a religion which is against the use of vaccines. This is wrong. And unless a certified and credible doctor informs them that their child could be at risk getting certain vaccines, they should not be allowed to prevent their healthy child from protecting himself or herself from deadly diseases.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the GENESIS staff. Reach Caleb Webb at [email protected].