This is the 64 thousand dollar question for most parents who are toiling with putting their children through the recommended vaccination programmes that are set out through our government. On the one hand, we hear of how diseases and viruses are being permitted a new foothold, within society, as a direct consequence of the fact that parents have held their children back from getting vaccinated in the past.
Measles is a huge and worrying example of this and tuberculosis is a disease that is becoming more and more prevalent, especially as air travel can encourage the spread of such illnesses far more easily nowadays.
At the end of the day, however, we need to address the fact that vaccinations are not always as simple as going in for treatment of plantar fasciitis, for example. Often, there are definite side effects to such strong vaccinations and the parent is stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to balance the risks of the side effects from the vaccine, to the likelihood of the contraction of that illness in later life.
This is an immensely difficult decision to make and obviously the parent is always going to want what they feel is best for their own child at the end of the day.
We must remember, though, that disease and illness is not likely to behave in the same way as it has in the past. This world has been made much smaller now, by the way we are able to travel so easily, and this does and will allow illness and disease to spread more freely. With this in mind, it is often prudent to ensure that your children are vaccinated against as many diseases as possible, as we are entering such an uncertain future.