[katowulf]

"Everyone knew people who had them, knew how awful they were..."

I wonder how you substantiate these claims if you've never been part of that generation?

While I'm not against vaccines and only possess a healthy skepticism of modern medicine--I recognize that it's as much commercial as about solving problems, and therefore will be pressured by corporate politics in some fashion--I was also a kid when measles were prevalent.

In our community, before the vaccinations were prevalent, it was commonplace to have a "measles party." If someone got the measles, you went over and exposed your whole family to get it done, since it's much more damaging to adults (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles#cite_note-15) and better to get "immunized" early.

So speaking from experience, I can't say how "horrible it was;" they were treated no differently than influenza and are certainly no more dangerous, at a rate of 0.3% deaths, compared to usual influenzas at 0.1%.