Vaccinations used to be considered a normal part of childhood, along with losing teeth and toilet training. However, in recent years, vaccination has become an extremely hot topic, with many parents choosing not to vaccinate their children. The idea seems absurd considering how many people were left with twisted backs and withered limbs from polio, or how many died from measles. Seeing someone who has been left in an iron lung due to an illness that is now preventable and still choosing not to prevent the illness seems absolutely stupid, and yet that is exactly what many parents do . Unfortunately, much of the vaccine fear comes from Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his fraudulent research linking vaccines to autism. Although Wakefield was proven to be a fraud – his medical license was even revoked – the debate rages on. It is incomprehensible that a parent would choose not to vaccinate their child. Keeping everyone's safety in mind, vaccinations for children should be mandatory. Tyler Ludlum, a once healthy 10-year-old boy, knows all too well the consequences of not being vaccinated. His carefree summer ended when he contracted meningococcal meningitis. Meningococcal meningitis causes swelling of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord and is spread from person to person through the exchange of oral and respiratory secretions. At the time he contracted the disease, Tyler was too young to get vaccinated. Instead, he relied on those around him to get vaccinated. So why are people choosing not to get vaccinated? What could be the arguments for not protecting your children, others and yourself from deadly but preventable diseases? Vaccines are... middle of paper ... mostly in the last 60 years. The fact remains that the number of deaths attributed to vaccines is much lower than the number of deaths attributed to the diseases against which vaccines protect us. This view is incredibly utilitarian, but if a few people have to die to save a thousand, it's worth it. Herd immunity protects those who cannot get vaccinated due to conditions such as a vaccine allergy or immunodeficiency disorder. If people choose not to vaccinate their children, they are putting the lives of those who cannot get vaccinated at risk. We do not live alone in this world, so we need to think about society as a whole rather than the individual when it comes to health issues. From the point of view of the interest of society as a whole, we obviously see that it should be obligatory for parents to vaccinate their children..