One of the great results of modern science and medicine is that, in general, people are very healthy. The worst illness most people have ever gotten is a cold. Horrible sicknesses still affect people, but compared to the epidemics and issues of the past, scientists have improved healthcare overall, and people are doing great. This is largely due to vaccines.

Large amounts of scientific research have gone into curing diseases, and just as much has gone into making sure people don’t get sick in the first place. The purpose of vaccines is to help people build up their immune systems in defense of diseases.

Today, diseases like polio, measles, mumps, and rubella should not be worries.

However, some parents have expressed concern over vaccines and their effects on children. Vaccines are essentially live viruses that are injected into people in a controlled way. Some people have raised questions on how safe this actually is.

Because the virus is controlled, it poses no threat to anyone being vaccinated. All the virus does, is introduce the body to it, so that an immunity builds up towards it.

Vaccines are tested extensively before they are used on the public. Doctors and scientist ensure there won’t be any extensive or dangerous side effects when they’re administered.

Children who have received vaccines that supposedly “give them diseases”, don’t usually get those diseases or any diseases as a side effect of vaccines.

On the other hand, some parents claim that vaccines cause autism and don’t actually work.

The man behind the vaccine-autism link, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, actually got his medical license revoked in 2010, due to dishonest research that he released connecting vaccinations to autism. Despite this, anti-vaxxers still latch onto his disproven theories.

Is a child getting autism really worse than a child getting polio and dying?

The truth is, when kids don’t get vaccinated, they get sick. Children who don’t get vaccinated for awful diseases like measles, mumps, rubella and even polio have a greater risk of contracting these diseases, according to the University of Michigan. Not only that, but when one child carries a disease like that, they can spread it to others who are unvaccinated, causing widespread sickness. Unvaccinated people pose a threat to everyone around them.

There were reported cases of measles and whooping cough traced back to Disneyland in 2014, despite the CDC declaring measles eradicated back in 2000. Preventable diseases are occurring more frequently in the United States.

The culprit, is lack of vaccination.

This has left a lot of parents desperately clawing through the internet and other resources, asking how they can prevent these diseases. Sure, there are essential oils or crystals, but the overwhelmingly obvious answer is vaccines.

Some anti-vax parents are claiming that they can treat their children with all-natural medicines. Herbs and essential oils are natural and healthy, and they certainly don’t hurt. After all, before modern day medicine was developed, that’s what people used.

However, these things aren’t enough.

According to the CDC, the best way to eradicate these rare diseases completely, is to be vaccinated for them. Even if it doesn’t completely eliminate the chance of getting sick, it will greatly decrease it.

The internet has spread all kinds of misinformation on vaccines, and people just aren’t doing their research.

The threat of a serious illness is scary for parents, and every parent just wants what’s best for their child. The best way to keep a kid safe is to vaccinate them.

Seriously, just vaccinate your kids.