[ghshephard]

I think it's important that you realize I agree with you on the fundamental issues of whether we need to have 100% coverage on vaccinations - that is absolutely my belief, and those who don't think that should be the case, should go visit the third world where there isn't 100% coverage, and see how childhood diseases ravage the population. In the first world, we've gotten uses to a standard of living, sometimes not realizing how it came about (Clean Water, Vaccinations, Public Health Systems) - we take it for granted.

I'm just hoping that while you see how we agree on that topic, that we perhaps should have a little bit more consideration or respect for the role of a parent, in determining what is done to their children, from the perspective of vaccination (and by extension, education, religion).

I'd rather we ensure that all parents vaccinate their children through enlightened understanding of why it's important, rather than because some third-party believes they aren't equipped to make informed decisions about vaccination and doesn't give them the choice. (Excepting, of course, unusual circumstances where you have a pandemic underway and there is immediate and significant threat to the populace from unvaccinated individuals - in that scenario, Civil Health overrides personal choice and you get vaccinated (adults and children) whether you like it or not) - but that's a rare scenario, usually the one at risk from a missing vaccination is the one missing the vaccination.