Dear Anti-Vaxxers,

My name is Alexis. I’m sixteen years old. I may be young, but I have a strong understanding of vaccinations due to my child development class. This letter is not only for the Anti-Vaxxers, but anyone who agrees with their thoughts or is contemplating whether or not they want their child vaccinated.

In the past there had been an immense amount of diseases that were widely spread throughout the world, but all thanks to our vaccinations these diseases seemed to decline over the years. Whether you should immunize your kid has been a dispute between parents since vaccines were introduced by Edward Jenner in 1789.  People frown upon this idea due to the miniscule risk that contributes to it, but the truth is there are risks for everything. The Success of a vaccination outweigh the negative impacts dramatically.

42,000 deaths in the U.S. are prevented every year due to vaccines.  According to Medium, they conducted a chart that showed the potential decay of diseases from 1912 to 2001. The growth of these diseases began to decrease significantly when vaccinations were introduced. This proves the effectiveness that vaccines claim to achieve. As stated in Centers for disease control and prevention, “It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat it after it occurs”. In other words, It’s better to be safe than sorry.

One of the most valuable things that we’re allowed to do is travel. Travelling allows us to migrate and observe new traditions people in the world follow and believe. Being around other people can be rather enjoyable, unless you’re not vaccinated. Unvaccinated people are easily prone to life-threatening diseases. Risking other people's lives with diseases you weren’t aware of consuming could cause an outrage of hospital visits and sometimes even deaths. According to PBS, “A child who hasn't received the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine is 35 times more likely to contract measles than a vaccinated child in the U.S., and 90 percent of unvaccinated people who come into contact with an infected person will catch the disease.” This demonstrates my purpose that vaccinations can prevent many lives from adapting an infectious disease. This could also go vice versa, if someone were to come from another country and bring along another disease, many people-specifically unvaccinated people-can easily be harmed. Being vaccinated allows us to be safe, secure, and disease free.

I understand that you disagree with the idea of vaccinations because of the potential risks and unnatural ness that contributes to it, but very limited people who get their vaccines have a reaction to it. According to vaccines, vaccines don’t have serious side effects that contribute to it and the chances of a severe allergic reaction are very rare.

Vaccinations have many positive aspects that uphold it: it’s quite evident that vaccinations are crucial in modern day due to all the benefits that contribute to it. If you don’t vaccinate your kid you’re putting not only you and your loved ones, but anyone you cross path with life’s at risk. Be considerate towards people’s life and vaccinate. Many peoples lives are at risks; America as a whole is affected.

Sincerely,

Alexis V.