For any women who are expecting a child, it's also important to know that if you get one or more vaccines during your pregnancy, the antibodies your body makes that make *you* immune can be transferred to your baby in utero, granting them some limited (and temporary) immunity from whatever you were vaccinated against. This can provide some protection during the vulnerable period between birth and when the baby can receive their first round of vaccinations.

Anti-vaccination nut jobs tick me off. They think that people don't need vaccinations and point to friends that have never received vaccinations and are fine. Well, dummy, the reason that your friend is OK, is because most everybody around them have received the vaccination, so your exposure opportunities is greatly diminished! (reference: "herd immunity")

So, these anti-vax dingbats go around promoting the so-called harm from vaccinations and then a virulent strain of a disease comes along and, like dominoes, there is a big outbreak. We've been relatively lucky so far, but wait until something REALLY virulent strikes. With larger and larger pockets of unvaccinated goofballs roaming around, we're going to have a disaster on our hands.

By the way, even if a particular vaccine has "only" a 1 in 3 chance of protecting an individual, it can severely constrain the infection. Think of it like a whole bunch of dominoes standing on end on a table. Remove a random 1/3 of them and then knock one over. Doesn't go very far before there is a gap large enough to halt the progression. If we can get the anti-vaxxers to actually comprehend that, it would go a long way to slow down the spread of this dangerous ignorance.

The anti-vax people only believe what the false and hoax web pages say about vaccines. They have zero interest of knowing the truth. Any actual facts that go against what they believe will be ignored. It is like that with a lot of issues. People have lost the ability to evolve their thoughts given actual facts. They only want verification that they are right, even when they are deadly wrong.

The third comment hit the nail on the head about the mind-set of people emotionally convinced of something, who lose their willingness to examine and check their assumptions -- therefore, lose their contact with reality.

Most US states allow no exceptions to the public-health childhood-vaccination requirement, and even California requires it for situations like public schools and daycare. Children unvaccinated because of their parents' notions create a host population for diseases that otherwise die off!

That self-absorbed parental behavior is behind some of the recent outbreaks: these parents' decisions affect the larger community, NOT just their own kids. Therefore, there may be legal basis for holding "anti-vax" parents accountable for the illnesses they cause, and the consequential financial damages those cause. It worked against the KKK.

I believe that (in California at least) parents can opt their kids out of vaccinations (even in public schools) if they sign a form that attests that "they do not believe in them." I'm sure it is like that around the country.

"California is among 20 states that allow parents to forgo vaccines for their children because of personal beliefs."

That statement (the particular quote is from ABC News) has been in media reports the last week or so (otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned it), I'm surprised anyone hasn't already seen or heard it. The measles outbreak has increased public scrutiny of anti-vax behavior.

As I mentioned earlier, that behavior has real costs beyond even the families of the adults who indulge in it. One potential legal avenue for redress would be a judicially recognized tort claimant class, for which "class action" remedies could then be sought from parents found willfully negligent.

National news: Oakland family furious after their baby quarantined following exposure to an anti-vax family's child carrying measles:

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Kevin - You may be right but it says right in the MMR insert DO NOT administer the vaccine to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. It also says women should not become pregnant within 3 months of receiving the MMR vaccine.

I'm not anti-vax so please so please no bullying comments. I am just sharing information that is in the insert provided with the vaccine itself!!

Many women are not aware of this and neither are their doctors. My friend was told by her doctor to get the MMR while pregnant until she showed her doctor the insert.