Herd Immunity and the Necessity of Vaccinations: Modeling the Effects of MMR Vaccinations

The MMR vaccination is a two dose vaccine given to children between the ages of 12 – 15 months and the second dose between the ages of 4 – 6 years to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella. The objective was to mathematically model the effects of the MMR vaccinations in a hypothetical school through multiple compartment and spatial models. These models were based on each disease individually with their respective vaccine effectiveness and disease infection rates. These models demonstrated the limits of herd immunity. Herd immunity occurs when a high enough percentage of the population is immune or vaccinated to prevent the spread of diseases to those who are susceptible. Once herd immunity was determined, the necessity of the vaccinations became evident. This model demonstrated the effects of not vaccinating a child and how it affected not only the individual but the whole population; by weakening the herd immunity of the whole population (Szabo 2010). Through this, parents, educators, and public health officials can be educated on the importance of getting children vaccinated