Why Vaccinate?

Protecting Your Child and Your Community

Immunization protects your child by providing a defense against serious infection and illness. But immunization protects more than your child’s health. Immunizing your child helps to stop the spread of illness to others in your community.

While not everyone is able to receive vaccines, everyone benefits from vaccination. When enough people in a community are vaccinated, a protective barrier is formed. This invisible shield makes it less likely for diseases to spread. This is known as herd immunity or community immunity.

Community immunity protects everyone.

Community immunity is especially important because some people cannot get vaccines. These people are also vulnerable to complications of vaccine-preventable illnesses. This includes people with some allergies and people who have weakened immune systems due to health conditions.

Newborn babies are also at risk for diseases until they are old enough to receive their vaccines. Fortunately, the vaccines a mother-to-be gets before and during pregnancy can help protect her baby for a short time after birth. You can also provide a circle of protection for your baby by making sure all caregivers, siblings, and grandparents get vaccinated.

Vaccine refusals put our communities at risk.

Since most parents vaccinate their children, we are able to provide adequate coverage for those who cannot be vaccinated. This allows for the very small number of children whose parents refuse vaccines for personal belief reasons to be protected as well. But the more children who are unvaccinated, the more we open our communities to the possibility of outbreaks. Pockets of low vaccination, such as in a school or child care center, create an environment where infectious disease can take hold and spread.

When you choose to protect your child through vaccination, you immunize for the greater good.

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