To anyone who is anti-vaccine (vaccine-hesitant):

Please take the time to research and talk with your doctors about vaccines. Really read the scientific articles and studies from accredited sources such as the CDC, FDA, and NIH. I know that I can't completely change your mind. And I understand if you have reasons of your own, but so do I and they can be simply put as such: We should all work together, as hard as we can, to eradicate infectious diseases that are now preventable in this modern age. Vaccines are the best and most effective option we currently have going for us. Approximately 93 percent of physicians agree with current vaccine recommendations and would administer them to their own child, so it's not a doctors versus patients battle. It's a battle against disease.

I would simply like to talk with you about a few myths surrounding infectious disease vaccines. Hopefully, you can then see that vaccination isn't this maiming, evil idea that you make it out to be.

Myth 1: There is a link between vaccines and autism.

False on so many levels. This idea first came to the public's attention in 1998 after the release of Dr. Andrew Wakefield's notorious study on immunization. The medical histories of the 12 patients were altered and misrepresented in order to fabricate results that eight of the patients developed "onset behavioural problems" after the administration of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Wakefield and other researchers were unable to reproduce the results of his study, and it was later revealed that there was a conflict of interest at the time of publication. Wakefield's medical license was revoked, and the study was retracted.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily rooted genetically, meaning that your genetic makeup determines your risk for the development of ASD over environmental factors such as vaccines. A study published in The Journal of Pediatrics found that there was no connection between the administration of antibody stimulating proteins and polysaccharides (a fancy way of saying vaccines) in the first two years of life and the development of autism. I could continue to overwhelm you with the results from multiple scientific sources, but here's a link to 10 accredited studies providing evidence that vaccines do not cause autism in the slightest.

I'll try to see this from your shoes for a second. If you still don't believe the studies on the nonexistent link between vaccines and ASD, the fact that you choose not to vaccinate solely for this reason shows what you value: You would rather risk contracting a fatal disease and potentially die than live with autism. Let that sink in for a second.

Myth 2: You'll be safe if everyone else around you is vaccinated.

Nope, nope, nope. People aren't the only things that can spread disease. Contaminated soil and food can spread tetanus and hepatitis A, for example. The world is full of bad microbes out there looking to start some trouble, too.

There is also a concept called herd immunity, which requires active participation through vaccination. Herd immunity relies on critical, proportional masses of the population to immunize in order to protect others within a community from contracting disease, the others in this case being children too young to receive vaccines or people with compromised immune systems.

The sharp decrease of vaccinations in a group of people increases the risk for contracting and spreading illness. Basically, vaccination is crucial for protecting not only yourself, but those who cannot protect themselves. Every vaccinated person helps add to the level of protection that the group provides and helps stop the spread of infectious diseases. So you're really not protected at all (or even protecting anyone else) through avoiding immunization.

Myth 3: The infectious diseases that vaccines protect against aren't around anymore.

Wrong again. According to the World Health Organization, the only infectious human disease eradicated worldwide is smallpox, while the only disease erased in the U.S. is polio. Here is a breakdown of cases in the U.S. throughout recent years:

• Hepatitis A: 3,473 (2013)
• Mumps: 310 (2015 so far)
• Measles: 188 (2015 so far)
• Whooping cough: 28,660 (2014)

In fact, a measles outbreak is in full swing in 24 states and the District of Columbia right now. The outbreak has been linked to an amusement park in California, where it is suspected that a traveler brought in the measles virus type B3 in the crowded environment. Last year, measles broke its previous record set in 2000 in the U.S. with 668 cases in 27 states. Clearly these diseases are still alive and kicking, searching for places to thrive in live hosts.

I hope you don't have that "it won't happen to me or anyone I know" mentality to support your decision not to vaccinate. Sure, these numbers may not seem like much, but it's groundwork for catching like wildfire on those who choose not to (or cannot) vaccinate. These infectious diseases don't care where they end up or who they affect. They just want to live, like you do. So please, consider putting a stop to the spread of disease through immunization and end them before they end you.