Measles is back: A mother's story, from today's LA Times: [View all]

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I know that parents worry about whether vaccines are safe for their children. But they should also consider the dangers of not vaccinating, which is why I'm telling my family's story.

In 1970, on a Fulbright cultural exchange, my husband and I moved to the Midlands of England with our 5-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son. Our daughter had received all her vaccinations, but our son was too young for his measles shot when we left home. Our pediatrician wasn't worried. "Just get it there in a few months," he said.

But when we asked about the inoculation after our arrival, the English pediatrician said, "We don't do those."
In the back seat, our son lay on my lap. Quietly, he stopped breathing and turned blue. -

A few months into our stay, when our son was 13 months old, he and his sister were playing at a friend's house. Mothers and kids were talking and laughing when the host boy, Ian, gave an enormous sneeze, and our toddler marched right through the cloud.

The entire story at the link:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-harmon-measles-encephalitis-vaccinations-20140914-story.html