Do you know what Herd Immunity is? According to the Oxford Dictionary, herd immunity is the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results if a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.

To put it simply, I need you to be vaccinated.

Let's go back, I'll tell you a little about myself.

Long ago, I was vaccinated. I was able to receive most of the life-saving vaccines that I needed. For that, I'm incredibly grateful. But as a child, due to reasons unrelated to vaccines, I developed an auto-immune condition. This condition takes random bacteria and viruses such as the common cold, streptococcus, influenza, pneumonia, and other basic illness and turns them into hell fire in my body. You see, my immune system can't tell the difference between those cells and my own body's cells. So, my immune system then attacks a part of my brain known as the basal ganglia, mistaking it for one of the cells belonging to that bacteria/virus. It continues to do so for long periods of time which leads my brain into a downward spiral of inflammation. It can also take other illnesses such as Lyme disease and do the same thing. This is a condition called P.A.N.S. As a child, I developed a sub-categorized version of this known as P.A.N.D.A.S, and over time, for me, it turned into P.A.N.S.

Now, if you look it up, you'll see that it's an acronym of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. I know what you're thinking. "But Abigail, you're twenty years old! That's not pediatric!" and you're right! But, this condition is so understudied that some doctors don't really know why it can extend into adulthood or adolescence. You can't develop this condition post pediatric, but some patients can have relapses after the cut off for puberty. I'm one of those people. Hi, nice to meet you.

Like I said earlier, thankfully I'm vaccinated with most of the life-saving vaccines that are boycotted today. Other than that, I can not be vaccinated again.

Due to having P.A.N.S/P.A.N.D.A.S, nearly anything can trigger my relapse at this point, which means I can't take a risk even if I receive a non-live vaccine. That's a gamble that I may not win. For the rest of my life, I will need to rely on herd immunity for even small illnesses that aren't really that small.

Although those vaccines may be harmful to me, that doesn't mean they will be to you. That's why I need you to be vaccinated. Even if it's as simple as the flu shot, if you can receive it, you should.

Everyone's run-to topic in anti/pro-vaccines is herd immunity. Each time, we hear the story from the other side. The hypothetical. They say 'Oh, hypothetically, what if you ran into a kid with leukemia who couldn't be vaccinated?' But how often do you hear what that person in question thinks about it? You don't. You hear the hypothetical.

I'm here to talk as the person who is the basis of your hypothetical statements.

The truth is, relying on society for your own health is awful. It's degrading and humiliating and it feels like the heaviest burden you'll ever carry. Because how dare you rely on someone else's risk to protect yourself, right?

Let's talk a little more about herd immunity.

Let's say that you decide not to get the flu shot. You work in a public place or somewhere that a lot of people are around. Or maybe you don't, maybe you travel a lot. Now, you've contracted the flu without knowing it. You don't feel the effects yet, they haven't shown up yet. How much money do you handle? How much public transportation do you come in contact with? How many times have you shaken someone's hand or hugged them? How many times have you coughed into your sleeve? Who was around when you coughed into your sleeve? Did you set your jacket down on a surface that someone else will touch? How many times have you been within a few feet of another person?

Now, do you know all of those people? The person who handled your money, your food, your clothes, your oxygen, how many are there? How many public offices have you entered? How many grocery stores or shopping malls? Some of them may have the vaccine, some may not. But you don't even know if you're sick yet, but you're still contagious. You touch the cashier's hand and they get sick and so do their kids. The person who handles the money gets sick and so do their kids. Every door handle that you touch, the person behind you now has those germs on their hands, and then they pass it on.

How many of them are immunocompromised? How many of those people have families with a loved one who is immunocompromised? How many people will they share your germs with, and how many of those people will be able to fight it off the same way as a healthy person would?

The answer is: You have no clue.

You have absolutely no clue how many people you could be hurting just because you don't like the poke in your arm. You show no symptoms of the flu yet = and because of that, you don't know if you're sick or not and you just keep going on as if you're not infecting people. You see, if you had the flu shot, you'd be a lot less worried about spreading the illness. You'd be able to feel more certainty about not spreading the disease because you'd know that you'd have a lot less likelihood of having the illness to begin with. But you don't.

As I said earlier, relying on herd immunity isn't a good feeling. It makes you feel selfish for relying on someone else. It makes everything feel like a burden. You didn't sign up for this — for the need to rely on others. Yet, you have no other choice. Nobody likes having to rely on others, it's a crappy feeling.

But while relying on herd immunity, that awful feeling follows every day of your life with you. You become scared to be around someone, anyone who may not even know if they have some sort of contagious virus/bacteria on their person. You're afraid to touch any surface, breathe any unclean air. It's horrific.

I understand that it's asking a lot of someone to receive some sort of medical treatment to benefit yourself, but that's humanity. That's care and helpfulness. If you unreasonably avoid the flu shot or any other vaccine, you have NO CLUE how many people come next. That's selfish.

Yes, the flu shot is a big deal to the people around you. Yes, the pneumonia vaccine is a big deal to the people around you. Yes, the meningitis vaccine IS A BIG DEAL! THEY ALL ARE!

They aren't a big deal to the non-immunocompromised. To people not dealing with health defects every single day, it's not a big deal at all. You go to the doctor or your local Walgreens, sit down, get the shot, go home. No biggie. It takes less than ten minutes. TEN WHOLE MINUTES that could save someone else; someone who can't do it themselves.

I completely understand being cautious of vaccines, but to not care at all and not receive the vaccine out of carelessness for yourself and others, it's beyond ignorant. Vaccines aren't just to protect you, but to protect the people around you as well.

My point is, you have no clue who around you may not be able to fend for themselves. You have no clue how many people on a day to day basis you could be spreading something as simple as the flu to. It may not be a big deal to you, but it's a massive deal to us.

So, please, for the love of all things holy, GET VACCINATED!

Save a life. Save yourself. Be courteous to the people around you, or don't be around people at all.