Man explains why there are fewer graves of kids in cemeteries after the 1950s

The debate over whether children should be vaccinated continues to divide opinions. While many support it as essential, others remain skeptical. Michael Okuda, a graphic designer, recently weighed in on the topic via X, and his thoughtful take resonated with many.

In his post, Okuda wrote, "Go to an old cemetery. See all the baby graves from before the 1950s & 60s? After that, hardly any. That's when people started vaccinating their children against deadly childhood diseases." Taking a stance for vaccination, he continued, "If you're unsure what to do to protect your kids, the answer is written in stone." This was posted on Jan 14, 2024, and since then has gained attention from a lot of users, both pro and anti-vaxxers. 

Some people in the comments agreed with what the man wrote. @kathlee14861239 commented, "I show parents pictures of children in iron lung machines. I tell them about the fear that parents had when polio broke out in their community. I tell them about myself and my siblings, each having mumps, measles, and chicken pox within four months and being miserable! Immunize." @lmhohmann wrote, "This is what I used to tell my patients...it is sobering." @road_trippn expressed, "It’s pure ignorance and neglect if you don’t get your kids and yourselves vaccinated. It’s foolish beyond belief!"

Some people agreed with him but also put out valid points that have to be considered. @thetomcane expressed, "While this is demonstrably true, it doesn’t mean that every single vaccine is safe and without potential side effects. Pretending all vaccines are 100% safe when there is evidence they are not only giving ammunition to anti-vax movement." @from_1776 added, "The truth is much more complicated. Calling something a vaccine and pointing to one that works doesn't imply that parents should accept every shot that's recommended. Nowadays, parents have to carefully research and choose what goes into their children's arms."

Talking about vaccinations, how can one forget about the COVID-19? While the time was distressing for many, it also came out with some good. One inspiring story was that of two boys who helped seniors book appointments for vaccination. While Sam Keusch, a 12-year-old, took on the mission as a bar mitzvah project, Benjamin Kagan, a 15-year-old realized the difficulty seniors faced in booking appointments when his grandparents in Florida needed vaccines. Keusch created the website "Vaccine Helper" to help people book appointments. "The appointment websites flicker with new appointments periodically, and they often last several seconds before they are claimed, at which point they state there are no appointments. If you're fast enough and persistent enough, you can get the appointment," he explained on the website. 

Kagan also worked to help people find vaccine appointments. "All my sleep has definitely taken a hit from it... but I'm obviously helping so many people and it's just work that needs to be done," he said, per ABC News. He added, "This technology is just not built for people that are 65-plus." "My grandfather doesn't even have a cellphone. They're not going to be able to book an appointment themselves. So really, we're all they have. It's a big responsibility, but no one else is going to do it." He also had the help of 50 other volunteers he found on Facebook who call themselves the "Chicago Vaccine Angels." So, whoever filled out the form, helped them with the booking. He shared that 70 percent of them were seniors.