We had amazing "herd immunity" for a long time, due to the vaccination programs that were in place. What has happened is that we've eradicated the diseases from our population, and some folks don't see a need to get vax'd now, because the disease "doesn't exist" anymore.
Except it does. And like was said upthread, we are seeing a comeback of things which people thought were gone.
People don't always understand that while we've been able to really almost do away with some diseases in humans, those diseases still exist in the world...it's just we have been given protection from them because of the vaxs.
Add to that the issue(s) of superbugs...and we've got some serious issues looming.
How to address this? Education, education, education. Healthcare personnel need to educate whomever asks - patient in our care or not - about vaxs, and about the illnesses they prevent.
It is not mandatory to have this or that vax given. Here in the US, we have the freedom to say "no", and that freedom extends to those infants/children in our care. Increasingly, we see parents saying "no" to the usual childhood vaxs, for various reasons. But we can't mandate that they get vaxs...because we have the right to choose what goes happens to our bodies.
Right or wrong, it's the way it is. It's an important right, too...not something I'd ever want to see go away. What society has done, however, is interesting. Most schools won't allow an unvax'd child into it, unless there are specific reasons like those stated by Hoppy above. Employers can mandate it, too (with the same exclusions).
Personal note: I had an instructor during my pediatric rotation that had the "scare book." It was a book of pictures of children dying of illnesses that we have vax's for...pertussis/diptheria, polio, mumps/measles/rubella, hepatitis, tetanus, et cetera. She'd give us the book, and have us sit down with the new parent(s), and discuss vax's, illnesses, and disease prevention with the new family, and try to get them educated about the risks and realities of these illnesses.
What this did for me as a nurse was give me a way to demonstrate the importance of vax's; for the new parents, it gave them something to see, and a way to understand the repercussions of not vax-ing.
Vax's are not given to newborns; but we were laying the foundation for the parents at a later time to get the vax's, and understand that this is an important thing to do, not simply for the child, but for the family, and for society.
The Scare Book worked more often then not; but there were still some parents who said they were not interested, or who looked at the book and still said they were not going to vax their child.
And I can't tell you how many very ill adults I see in my ward who do not get the annual flu vax, or the pneumonia vax. They decline a free shot, which may help keep them alive through the next flu season. And that, as a healthcare worker, irritates me. But I can't make them take it, either...I can just offer and give it, or note that it was offered and declined, and let it go.
As flu season approaches, please, people...go get the vax (unless you're allergic to eggs or latex). Do what you can to stay healthy, and that includes getting a vax. And please urge those seniors around you to get it, too...
(off soap box now...sorry...)
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Herding Cats