Parents spare the vaccines and sicken the children

Darkfrog submitted, created time 7 months 4 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

I would like to nominate ABC and all the other anti-vaccine elements who decided to ignore the science and play up that hype: Twelve kids in San Francisco just got measels, nine of them because their parents thought that the vaccines were too dangerous.

Let's see... What are the dangers of NOT vaccinating the kids? Pneumonia, brain swelling, and -- oh what was that other one -- DEATH!! One contributor put it very well. Because vaccines became so widespread during the twentieth century, the parents have never seen measels and don't know how dangerous it is.

The real question is whether personal-belief exemptions -- the idea that parents can decline their children's vaccinations for any reason (not just religious), even if that reason is the debunked and boneheaded idea that vaccines cause autism -- are all right with regard to highly contagious diseases. I'm all for personal autonomy where it does not infringe upon the rights of others, especially in medical situations, but an unvaccinated child can infect other children. I haven't really solidified my opinion on it just yet.

Keywords: parents and children parents vaccines meningitis measels pediatrics autism rubella MMR mumps herd immunity public health politics