I cannot get shots.
Very simply, I can’t do it. I have trypanophobia, which is the irrational fear of needles and hypodermic injections.
While some people scoff and tell me to “tough it up” or “get over it” when this comes up, it has been a serious issue in my life for years, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. But it’s made me far more aware and outspoken when it comes to one issue: vaccinations.
My stance on this tends to surprise people—I firmly believe and will definitely say that any person who is physically and psychologically capable needs stay up to date on their vaccinations.
In fact, I’m depending on it, and here’s why: herd immunity is a very real and very important thing. If everyone who is able to get vaccinations does so, a large part of the general population becomes immune to the disease in question, and while people like me cannot achieve that degree of immunity, it significantly decreases our chances of catching said disease. Less people are capable of spreading it, so less people catch it: herd immunity.
I’ve heard a lot of people make claims against vaccinations, saying that they are harmful and that the risks outweigh the benefits. However, this just isn’t true.
One of the loudest and most predominant claims that I see is the one that vaccines cause autism. This idea originated in 1998 when Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor whose medical license has since been revoked, published a study claiming that there was a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. It has been 18 years since his paper was published, and since then, his research has been discredited and countless studies have shown that there is no link between autism and vaccinations.
Others cite the alleged danger of vaccinations—the emphasis here on alleged. Time and time again, research has debunked the idea that possible side effects are more dangerous than the diseases that they are there to prevent.
And if anything, the complete and total lack of people dying from smallpox today sure says something about the importance of vaccinations.
For me, this has become a passionate plea. Please stay up-to-date with your vaccinations. Please vaccinate your children if you have any. Please.
