Viruses Don’t Care About Your View: Why ABC Shouldn’t Have Hired Jenny McCarthy

[longship]

14. I cannot agree that it's their problem.

When vaccination rates fall below herd immunity, it's all of our problem. And the people who suffer the most are those who cannot be vaccinated, new borns and the sick and elderly. Those people depend on the immunity of the vaccinated herd to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases which could expose them to those pathogens.

Herd immunity occurs at about 90%. There are many communities far below that because of the anti-vaccine quackery, resulting in outbreaks of pertussis and measles and such. Make no mistake, both can be deadly, especially pertussis.

Vaccines are one of the three best medical inventions ever (along with potable water and the flush toilet). We've beat smallpox and are close to beating polio because of vaccines. In my life, polio was a danger. I can remember getting the first Salk vaccine while I was in grade school just as I remember kids walking with crutches.

This is a very important issue.