It seems like nowadays vaccinating your child is like flipping a coin. Heads, they're autistic. Tails, they're dead from a disease that they could have been immune to. Even though there has never been a case of a vaccine causing autism, people still don't want to take the risk. However, not getting your child the vaccinations they need creates an even bigger risk.

Since 1979, there have been zero cases of the poliovirus in this country. After the vaccine was announced in 1953, the virus reached extinction in the United States. Other countries, however, don't have the same privilege, so polio is not extinct from the whole world. All it takes is for one person infected with the virus to come to the US and it will no longer be history. Or worse, another outbreak of this deadly virus could make its way.

Polio is just one of the many, many diseases that can easily be prevented with a shot. If vaccines can make a virus extinct, then we shouldn't hear of random outbreaks. Measles is another very preventable disease, however, there have been about 206 cases of the disease in the first two months of 2019 alone.

With that being said, I think it's safe to say that vaccinations spark a lot bigger issues than autism. The threat of deadly preventable diseases sweeping the country should scare people into getting their children protected. It should scare doctors and other authorities into requiring certain vaccines for everyone.

Issues this serious shouldn't create arguments or opinions unless one of the arguments is trying to make vaccinations a requirement for all people to get. It may be a little costly, but in the long run, it is a lot more effective than essential oils or aromatherapy.

Although the only two viruses mentioned here are measles and polio, there are hundreds more preventable diseases up for discussion. Injecting "poison" into your child's body will do less harm than good; it could save their life. And, even if there were the slightest possibility of a child contracting autism from a life-saving vaccine, that would be much better and easier to handle than wishing you could've vaccinated them while they were still alive.

I know it's old news, but if it takes beating a dead horse to get every parent to protect their child with the appropriate vaccines, then so be it.