Cancer patients, AIDS patients, organ recipients all have compromised immune systems. They'd all be at risk because of irrational choices their colleagues made.
Nothing in medicine is as straightforward as that. Most cancer treatments end up wiping out or suppressing many different kinds of cells, and a temporary suppression of white blood cells is considered an acceptable side effect. AIDS will have to be cured. A strong immune system often attacks donor organ cells, so the immune system is intentionally weakened. We may eventually develop solutions for all three issues, but I don't expect it to happen in our lifetimes. Heck, I predict we'll be cloning body parts in labs to obviate the need for anti-rejection meds long before we learn to fine-tune our immune response.
> Nothing in medicine is as straightforward as that
Which begs the question, why do we make an exception with vaccines? It seems like vaccines are being presented as completely safe & completely effective by some proponents.
You see nuance in this issue, but then, why are critics of vaccines silenced & ridiculed? I thought "nothing in medicine is straightforward"...
I don't understand what you're asking. Vaccines are recommended because that's usually the best course of action. That doesn't mean that vaccines will work 100% of the time... if that's what you were asking. Safety...? We're not talking about experimental vaccines whose safety is not well understood. If you have specific allergies or specific medical conditions, I'm sure your doctor would either recommend an alternative that does not have that allergen or suggest some other course of action.
> That begs the question, shouldn't we be more focused on promoting strong immune systems?
No. There's no general solution to the problem of compromised immune systems, because there are many different causes. Some of those causes are infectious diseases that can be controlled through vaccination, so translating your feel-good goal of "promoting strong immune systems" into specific courses of action will include using tools like mass vaccinations. There are no better or more cost-effective ways to prevent diseases like measles, and almost every unvaccinated person exposed to measles develops the disease even if they have a healthy immune system.
Hopefully not too many babies have cancer, aids, and organ transplants.