Recently, there has been a lot of talk about vaccines and whether they’re good for children or whether they harm them. The studies into the issues generally differ in what they’ve found. Some people are choosing not to vaccinate their children because they feel it increases the child’s risk of autism. Other people believe that there is no link, and that the vaccines are necessary. No matter which side of the matter you stand on, vaccines have clearly saved a lot of lives. Many of the diseases that are vaccinated against today were killers of both children and adults not long ago. Now that they’re being vaccinated against, they’ve all but been eradicated. That’s good news for children.
Unfortunately, many countries don’t have access to the vaccines that the larger, more civilized nations have. In third world countries where poverty is high and health is generally not that good, these vaccines are unheard of. Children there still die of diseases that could easily be prevented in the United States or Europe. Many missionaries and others who are concerned about these children are trying to get vaccines to them, but they’re often found to be fighting a losing battle. The money and other resources that are needed simply aren’t there, which lives these children and their families at serious risk for problems that would be easy to correct.
While there is only so much that can be done, technology continues to evolve. In the future, vaccines may become less expensive, which would allow more of them to get to the children who really need them the most. In the United States, the battle will go on when it comes to vaccinations. Most school districts will not allow children to attend if they haven’t had their immunizations, so homeschooling may be the only answer for parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. Time will tell whether these children get sick or suffer problems from a lack of these vaccines, and whether they struggle the way unvaccinated children in other parts of the world struggle.