General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Measles is back: A mother's story, from today's LA Times: [View all]karynnj
(59,802 posts)Notice the statistic she gave of the incidence of the complication her son had. It is small enough that most of us and most people we knew didn't have a problem. However, there were some number who did - some who were seriously hurt by the disease and some who died. In her case, she knew a friend of the family thus affected.
It is because some healthy children were greatly impacted by these childhood diseases, that scientists worked to get vaccines. It was not to insure better attendance in school or make lives easier for parents.
The risks from the vaccines are there, but the likelihood of trouble if the child received the vaccine had to be proven to be much lower than the risk of side effects. (Additionally, parents - as you know - are advised to monitor the kids and call the doctor if there is a bad reaction - even if it was relatively mild. ) The first group of kids with parents who made the choice NOT to vaccinate were actually protected by the large percent of kids who were vaccinated. Epidemics that spread like wild fire in a non vaccinated population often die out quickly when very large percents of kids are vaccinated.