Meredith Sherman

Vaccination is an essential component of public health and is one of the rare healthcare interventions that we need all members of society who are healthy and able to be vaccinated to receive. This is because group vaccination keeps all members of our society safe, including those who cannot receive vaccination for health reasons. Children who are immunocompromised need their fellow classmates to receive vaccination. In addition, children who receive vaccines are protected against the severe and usually life-threatening forms of an illness (such as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis which occurs in measles and is 100% preventable with the MMR vaccine). It is very important to not have any barriers to children receiving vaccination--it could cost them their lives!