Certain diseases can cause suffering, as well as complications such as disability or even death. Disease can be significantly reduced or even eradicated through the use of vaccines, an example of which is smallpox. This is known as herd immunity, which occurs when enough people within a community receive a vaccine. This makes it harder for a disease to pass between people, and even to those who have not been vaccinated. Herd immunity is important to people who cannot receive a vaccine because they are too ill or having treatment which can damage their immune system.

 

While some infections may be treated with anti-biotics, there are few treatments available for viral infections. Anti-biotics do not work against viruses and there is an increasing occurrence of bacteria which are becoming resistant to anti-biotics. Preventing infection in the first occurrence is the best approach.

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Recently, there had been a significant rise is diseases which can be prevented through vaccination, such as cases of measles which have risen over 250% in England between 2017 and 2018. Claims such as vaccines cause autism have been disproved, however there continues to be misconceptions such as these that are spread which has caused the number of children who are vaccinated to decline, leading to outbreaks. You can find more information on the World Health Organization's and the NHS' websites.

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A vaccine cannot give you 100% protection, but can significantly reduce the likelihood of becoming unwell as well as reducing the likelihood of developing serious effects of an illness. Nothing is guaranteed to be 100% safe or effective. Vaccines are not completely free from side effects, however they are tested extensively through scientific clinical studies to ensure that they are safe to be administered to the population and are regularly monitored.