@chaski Said
Having clearly picked one side of the issue, in and effort to be "fair" I do have a scenario/question on the topic that may or may not support the "other side".
Scenario:
Let's say that there are 1000 people in a given population (call it a school if you like). And, 100 decide that they do not want to take vaccines. The other 900 do take the vaccines, so should be "immune" to the disease in question (lets call it TFS)
One day little Chaski contracts TFS. Little Chaski then goes to school and proceeds to infect some of the 100 who have opted to NOT take the vaccine that would have protected them.
In due, course the school has an "epidemic" on their hands and 80 of the 100 un-vaccinated children get sick; 65 survive with little or no medical attention, 10 survive after having to go to the hospital, 5 die.
So, to recap the 900 that took the vaccine have no problems, the ones who did not take the vaccine had varying degrees of TFS impact on their lives...but it was their "choice".
The vaccine citizens are not in danger. Those that want to take risks get to live or die with those risks.
Question:
What is the problem?
[Yes.. I way over simplified this situation.]
A real life scenario about the danger of listening to false science which leads to newspaper scaremongering happened here in 1998.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/timeline-how-the-andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine-scare-story-spread-8570591.html
Timeline Of How The Scare Story Spread
The MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine, commonly known as 'Trips' is intended to immunise children for all three diseases with one vaccine but a report issued by a gastroentologist named Andrew Wakefield, who claimed that MMR was linked to Autism and bowel disorders was given massive publicity by the press leading to many parents refusing to have their children immunised.
The Story Behind The MMR Scaremongering
The findings of the Wakefield Report were challenged but aided by lurid press stories, many continued to believe it. By 2006, outbreaks of measles in children across the UK who were not immunised began to occur and in April of that year, the first child died from the disease.
The findings contained in the report were eventually found to be misleading and erroneous. Andrew Wakefield was disgraced and his reputation destroyed. But for many, the damage had been done. Today, Trips is universally trusted in the UK and the immunisation programme is well established.
But it is a sobering tale indeed. How easily groundless fears are inserted into the public consciousness which can lead to tragedy.
I don't know if the vaccine being introduced in California is effective or not. I hope it is. But I hope that no families suffer needless - and preventable - tragedy because they didn't give it to their children for the wrong reasons.
Good luck.