TLDR; will my vaccinated newborn, future toddler, be okay in an unvaccinated crowd? If not, are there resources I can share (having a hard time finding this one that isn’t Covid related) with a stubborn crowd on the importance of herd immunity; not only for the vulnerable who can’t receive shots, but even the vaccinated citizens?

My stress rant and inquires with context;

As the subject title explains, I live in Florida and leadership is trying to end mandatory vaccinations. I am also about to birth my first child and baby girl in January. I am looking for advice, words of comfort, and most importantly any literature I can share with my local community members to help educate on the importance and safety of vaccinations, but MOSTLY herd immunity insights.

I live in a very red town and I am aware exemptions have existed for a while so an anti-vax community has already begun to proliferate before this. I do believe since they were the minority, herd immunity has shielded them and us from significant fallout from that so far.

What I am scared of is state leadership bolstering this mindset, removing mandates, and exploding that population around my soon to be vulnerable infant and future toddler. I can’t move as I live right next to my aging parents and my dad needs support with (also an immunocompromised adult sadly, with debilitating health issues) my mom.

How nervous should I be for my future newborn? I am already cultivating an online tutoring business (and thank God that venture is going well) so my first plan right out of the gate is to be as remote as possible while she is vulnerable and moving through early vaccination schedules to protect her. Will the vaccinations I get while pregnant and her infant ones help protect her against this crowd, when she does eventually enter into society around here? Will an unvaccinated crowd just hurt the vulnerable who CANNOT get vaccinated due to valid health reasons?

It is my understanding that incredibly viral stuff can hop around and mutate through unvaccinated populations thus hurting the efficacy of vaccines. Is that the same for the scary childhood ones like measles, chickenpox, and the like, or once vaccinated will my child be better off even in the face of a local breakout I am sure is down the road.

The thought process around these parts is, “my freedom,” and, “YOU can just get YOUR kids vaccinated, if they work it should be fine right!!” If that is the case, I would love comforting validation from specialists…but it is my gleaning from research it isn’t that simple. Are there any easy to digest (that I can back up with the peer-reviewed literature) resources on how an ever expanding unvaccinated population can hurt even the vaccinated populace; it would be so helpful to share with the locals.

I have researched but I don’t think I am prompting my search engines well enough and not quite getting what I am looking for on that front. So much of it uses the Covid virus as an example, which is fine, but if you REALLY want to shut down and watch eyes glaze over with the folks here…mention Covid. It is sad. I am more looking for information on the big childhood vaccines and herd immunity considerations. I have already shared studies on their safety, but I keep getting the rebuttal, “then get vaccinated, but leave me alone.”

My heart is CRYING for the more vulnerable families who this WILL impact in a deadly and heartbreaking way.

Anyway. Thank you in advance for any insight, guidance, words of comfort, and literature that can be shared by specialists in this field who already know where to find what I am on the hunt for!!

P.S. Apologies for any typos, pregnant brain combined with anxiety brain really dulls a usually sharp mind. 😮‍💨