About a week and a half ago, the Beaufort County Health Department issued a press release stating there were seven cases of mumps in North Carolina during April in Wake, Watauga and Orange counties.

“Though those counties are in the central area of the state, Beaufort County residents often travel or come into contact with people who have traveled to those areas,” the release stated. “It is very important that every person who can be vaccinated is up to date on his or her routine shots.”

This situation speaks to a larger issue happening in the world of health care.

Relatively rare cases of adverse side effects from vaccinations have scared many parents into choosing not to vaccinate. Their argument: they have the right to choose what is best for their children or themselves.

That may be true, but when their right begins to overlap and stifle the rights of others, problems arise. Because of the newest wave of anti-vaccination, diseases that were nearly snuffed out decades ago are now beginning to crop up again. In North Carolina, it was the mumps, but how long will it take for polio, rubella or hepatitis B to begin spreading? Vaccine mandates are in place for a reason.

Others argue that it shouldn’t matter if a person declines vaccination because those who were vaccinated will be protected anyways. This argument is shortsighted.

That may be the case in individual communities, but if there’s one thing history has taught us, it’s that people travel and so do their diseases. It’s incredibly easy for diseases to be transmitted to other countries that may not offer the same vaccination opportunities as the U.S. There are also people who have issues with low antibody counts and compromised immune systems; their overall wellbeing depends upon not coming into contact with these diseases.

Although there may be adverse and/or severe side effects associated with vaccines, scientific research proves time and again that these instances are exceedingly rare. In some cases, their correlation to vaccines cannot be confirmed.

It is still paramount for residents to receive and stay up to date on vaccinations. It’s important for one’s individual health, and it’s important to the health of the billions of other people in the world.