Autism and the Immunization Debate
Vaccines are one of the most valuable contributions to society. They aid in protecting us from serious illnesses and complications from numerous diseases. However, even with unhindered vaccination availability, there has been an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, every year, due to …show more content…
“Herd immunity is when the rate of immunization within a society reaches an appropriate level.” (Fadda, 2015) When this level is achieved, the population as a whole is protected from that particular disease. This “stops the disease from spreading throughout the community, since there are not enough susceptible people for the disease to spread to. For example, if a community lost its herd immunity against polio and a traveler from a country affected by polio visited that community, polio could be reintroduced back into the population.” (Hall, 2009) Clustering is particularly associated with these types of disease outbreaks because when herd immunity is compromised, diseases can spread easily. Clustering is often derived from groups of people, who live in communities close together, who share similar beliefs about