Think back to a time where one of those closest to you died from polio or smallpox. 

You can’t, can you? That’s because vaccines have decreased the proliferation of these diseases substantially or eradicated them completely. 

While some well-known medical “celebrities” have brainwashed the population into thinking that vaccines are linked to autism, science shows otherwise. In the late 1990’s, a British scientist published a paper that declared the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine a cause of autism. Although his findings were later chalked up to professional misconduct and were withdrawn, the public listened. Parents everywhere stopped vaccinating children for fear of waking up to an autistic child. Skeptics accused immunizations of making the autism rate skyrocket, although this was due to increased awareness and broadening of the autism spectrum. Sparking fear worldwide, this anti-vaccine movement spread like an infection. Just two years ago, 200 people were diagnosed with measles, which had been eradicated in 2000. 

The war against vaccines started at the most unfortunate time: the presidential transition. In stark contrast to the 44th President’s pro-vaccine administration, President Donald Trump has appointed anti-vaccine Robert Kennedy, Jr. to lead an immunization commission. The last three men to occupy this position were all physicians. As an attorney with no medical background whatsoever, Kennedy plans to make the laws on child vaccinations more “lax”. Also a conspiracy theorist, he has collaborated on several books that elaborate on his beliefs. He believes thimerosal, a component used to preserve vaccines, is linked to autism in children, despite countless epidemiological studies showing no connection between the two. However, thimerosal has not been used as a preservative in almost two decades. 

Children are immunized against dozens of preventable diseases by the age of twelve, including polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, varicella, tetanus, and many more. Just one vaccine can immunize a child against 3 diseases. The President’s theory on “small doses over long periods of time” has no scientific backing; the simple fact is that not vaccinating children leads to pandemics of potentially fatal diseases. It’s not just about your children; it’s about children who were born into this world with autoimmune disorders. It’s about children who are diagnosed with terminal cancers. It’s about children who are immunocompromised. Not vaccinating children due to fear of the unknown only puts other people’s children at risk.