COTW: Got Shots?

US Person remembers when as a child he took so many shots he could only lay on the floor and groan! What does not kill you, only make you stronger, right? Now parents are increasingly opting for not vaccinating their school age children motivated in part by scare stories about deadly side effects such as autism from some vaccines. One of the most laudable accomplishments of modern medicine is the elimination of once virulent diseases like smallpox and polio using vaccines. To be effective vaccinations have to be widespread among the population. For example the required immunity rate for pertussis which is making a big come back in the vaccine-free northwest where mommy knows best is 93-95%. California's vacination rate has been dropping since 2008. In 2010 California reported an outbreak of pertussis (whopping cough) in which 10 infants died, the worst mortality rate from this disease in 60 years. Without sufficient levels of vaccination there is no "herd immunity". It is one thing to refuse to fluoridate your water, another to increase the chances of transmitting a deadly disease. Oregon recently took legislative action to require immunizations for school children. These two charts from Mother Jones show the alarming trend in the US against vaccination. US Person thinks your dumb is showing, again: