Submitted by Debbie Izzo, Health Director
When it comes to vaccinations, parents fall into one of two categories: they believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of regular vaccinations and follow that practice with their children or 
they have made the decision to NOT vaccinate, possibly due to religious reasons and, more often than not, due to lack of valid, scientific research .
VACCINES CAN:
Save a child’s life and protect our future – some diseases that once caused illness and even death have
been eliminated completely, primarily due to vaccines.
Small pox is a great example; it was eliminated
worldwide years ago through vaccination programs,
so children DO NOT have to get that vaccine now.
Save time and money – children infected with vaccine-preventable diseases can be denied attendance at schools and child care facilities. Enrollment itself can be quite a
lengthy and complicated process once the parents have notified administrations of their plan to NOT
vaccinate. Vaccine-preventable disease can result in prolonged illnesses and disabilities and can take
a financial toll on a family.
IMPORTANT: Ongoing misinformation available to the public regarding vaccinations and their links to autism are just that…misinformation. At least 12 scientific studies designed to detect a connection between vaccinations and autism have been published and these studies have overwhelmingly FAILED to show any connection between the two. The increased incidence of autism cases that happened to correspond with the increased number of vaccinations given caused, and continues to cause much speculation…FACT – just because the rise in autism cases happened around the same time does not make one the cause of the other.
BOTTOM LINE: Though it is a parental decision, if we stopped vaccinating, diseases that are and have been almost unknown would make a comeback, and we would begin to see epidemics again causing more children to get
sick and die.
Parents—educate yourselves and ask questions in order to make the best, most informed decisions that will affect your children for the rest of their lives and for generations to follow.
Some information taken from the Centers for Disease Control www.cdc.gov
One Voice Illinois 