Every year, thousands of families nation wide make the decision on whether or not to get their child vaccinated.
“People sort of underestimate the importance of getting the vaccines,” said James Brouillette a doctor at Lansing McLaren Redi Care.
Brouillette said vaccinations are known to be one of the main components of keeping communities healthy.
“If you were to go back 2 or three generations and talk to your grand parents and great grand parents, that would line up down the streets to get the vaccines,” he added.
But as fewer outbreaks of diseases occurred, Terri Adams who works for the Michigan Department of Community Health said she fears for those who are not vaccinated.
“There are pockets in our community who do not vaccinate and that’s our concern,” Adams said.
Last December, the measles resurfaced after an outbreak at Disneyland lead to various cases nation wide.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection and if contracted can be fatal.
“The real problem is that you can get panencephalitis which is a swelling of the lining of the brain and that’s what people will generally die from,” Brouillette said.
With a viral disease such as measles or shingles, you can get the disease without physically coming into contact with someone who has sit. And with an every day public item such as this shopping cart measles can live on this surface for up to five days.
While it may seem obvious to get the vaccinations, some who are not too fond of them such as Luwam Abram who thinks practices such as meditation can heal your body.
“We can really heal ourselves, holistically, eating healthy, you know all natural, but of course also just meditating”, Abram said.
At 14 years old Abram moved here from eastern Africa and decided against vaccinations due of fear.
“In the late 90s there was a study that a pretty powerful medical journal in England and it said it had a connection to autism,” Brouillette said.
“Caused a lot of fear and concern in Europe and the United States and people stopped vaccinating because of it,” Adams said.
And while the study was debunked, the choice to get vaccinated remains a choice that many will not take.
“We always hope we have a high enough vaccination amongst the population to give us what we call herd immunity,” Brouillette said.
A concept where at least 90 percent of a community is vaccinated to reduce the outbreaks amongst those who are not.