Are Vaccines Worth it?

After the presentation about vaccines, it made me think twice about whether I wanted to get close to another needle ever again. Then, I quickly berated myself for being such a scaredy cat, because life is all about taking risks, hence the annoying term, yolo.
                                         
While it may be true that vaccines can have horrible side effects, that can ultimately lead to severe brain disorders such as autism, ADD, and Parkinson's,the other side of the argument is if a person doesn't get vaccinated, they can die from deadly illness like HPV.
 In a situation like this, where both options seem equally devastating, you have to ask yourself; which one of these two bad options seems more bearable? And the truth is, it depends.

               
If you are living in a town that is sexually active, then the better option for you is to get that vaccine shot. However, if you are in a town where everyone is abstinent, what's the point of getting vaccinated other than to playing Russian Roulette with the chance of getting brain disorders? I guess all I'm trying to say here is to be rational about this. Vaccines are an important, and effective way to prevent illnesses from spreading, and a method for citizens to protect themselves. The chance of getting a brain disorder and other harmful effects is minute, and unfortunately, that's one of the risks you have to take to protect yourself from the disease. We can't always live our lives in a nutshell, as good and pleasant as it sounds at times. If you're afraid of taking risks, then don't even bother stepping outside of your house anymore.

One thing I really disliked about this entire ordeal is the fact that the government had to be so secretive about the risks of a vaccine. I realize that if the citizens were aware of the effects of vaccines, there would be far less people coming for vaccinations, especially since the chances of receiving the effects are so small, but at the same time, the government should never be hiding something as important as this to their people. I understand the communist government hiding issues from their citizens, because they have complete control of their country, and no one is allowed to go against them to say otherwise. Therefore, they can do absolutely anything they want. However, we live in a democratic country, where we should be just as involved in making decisions as the rest of government, especially on an issue regarding our safety. By filtering that out, the government is now seen as someone we can't rely on to keep us safe, someone we question why we support.
We as citizens should have been educated about the side effects of the vaccines, but told the truth of it, that there is only a rare chance of experiencing the side effects, and how important it is for us to be vaccinated at the moment for the disease we could potentially get if we don't vaccinate.
Knowledge is power, afterall.