Daily Herald opinion: A shot for the greater good: Getting your vaccines helps not just you, but all those around you

Fall brings plenty of familiar sights and sounds to the suburbs. Football games, changing leaves and cooler weather are here. But fall also brings something less welcome — the start of flu, COVID-19 and RSV season.

So yes, this is your timely reminder to stay healthy and get those annual vaccines. If they aren’t on your to-do list, add them, and remember that getting recommended vaccines each year is not only a personal health decision. It’s also a way of looking out for the people who make up our communities.

Across the suburbs, we’re all connected. Kids sit next to each other in classrooms. Families gather at community events. Co-workers share offices. We shop at the same stores, visit the same libraries and attend the same local events. We share more than streets and ZIP codes. We also share germs and illnesses.

That makes individual choices matter beyond the individual.

If you’re vaccinated, you will be less likely to become seriously ill, but the even broader value is helping to reduce the spread of those respiratory viruses to everyone else. That’s especially important for those around us who are more vulnerable to serious illness, including infants, older adults and people with certain medical conditions.

Community health isn’t an abstract concept. It’s the child sitting in a classroom. It’s the grandparent living down the street. It’s the nurse working a hospital shift. It’s the friend with a weakened immune system.

We celebrate when people volunteer, donate food, shovel a neighbor's sidewalk or help a family through a difficult time. Vaccination is another, quieter form of community-mindedness.

We can’t control every illness or protect everyone from every infection. But we can take reasonable steps to protect ourselves and reduce risks for those around us.

Getting a yearly vaccine only takes a few minutes. And small acts of responsibility add up. When we protect our own health, we’re also protecting the people around us in the spaces we share every day.

That’s what being a good neighbor looks like.