Before most students entered kindergarten, they walked into the doctor’s office, sat down, and waited for the nurse to stick a needle into their arm. After an acceptable amount of crying, they walked out knowing only that the shot they just got will keep them from getting sick.

However, how much does the average student know about what these vaccinations are actually doing? What even are diphtheria, measles, and rubella? And most importantly, why do shots even matter?

Measles, a virus that has re-emerged in the past few years, was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000. That’s because, for the most part, we were able to successfully vaccinate our population against the virus.

There’s a simple reason for this sudden comeback; fewer people are getting vaccinated.

Vaccinations work by taking advantage of our immune system’s natural ability to learn how to defend itself against diseases.

In the case of measles, doctors inject a live strain of the virus into a patient so the patient’s immune system can learn and remember how to fight it off. If enough people get vaccinated, the virus can’t spread and will die out.

“It’s based on the premise of herd immunity. If a certain percentage of a population is vaccinated against a disease, we can prevent the spread of that disease. If we fall below that percentage, the disease still spreads,” said Ms. Bobbi Pointer, Licensed School Nurse.

Herd immunity doesn’t require everyone to be vaccinated, but if more are people protected from a disease or virus, fewer people will get sick as a whole.

Essentially, vaccinations not only protect the person receiving the shot, but work towards protecting the entire population. In a school, this is crucial in maintaining a healthy student body.

The District has a “no shots, no school” policy, though it’s possible for students and parents to “opt out” of their vaccinations. As a result, there is a small percent of unvaccinated students at HHS and throughout the district.

“Many people have medical reasons they can’t be vaccinated. If they are going through chemotherapy or they are immunosuppressed for any other reason, they cannot get vaccinated. However, many people choose not to vaccinate for fear of autism, or because they don’t think it’s good to put that kind of stuff in their body,” Pointer said.

These fears have contributed to a rise in the percentage of unvaccinated children in Minnesota and the United States as a whole. In fact, in Minnesota alone, the CDC estimates that roughly 6.5 percent of kindergarteners are unvaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella.

If this percentage continues to rise, the population risks losing its herd immunity, and outbreaks like the one we are currently experiencing will become more common.

So, before the class of 2015 finds themselves in college dorm rooms next year, they must first re-trace those pre-k steps back to the Doctor’s office, sit down, and wait for the nurse to come and give them their much-needed shots (in most cases meningitis and hepatitis B). Then, after they shed an appropriate amount of tears, they can go to college knowing they are protecting themselves and their fellow students.