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If those that thought like you and those that thought like me could all live on big separate islands with no contact except Free Republic we’d be no bio threat to each other.

I know. I wish people who jump at every opportunity to get a flu shot would stay on an island and not expose the rest of us to a weakened but live antigen. You put our lives at risk all the time, and don't give it a second thought. Survival of the fittest instead of care for the weakest, I guess.

I look forward to someone whose unsafe to vaccinate (by our standards) child either incurred a lot of medical expenses, or worse died, from an infection that could be traced back to a vaccine eligible but refused kid.

That's sick. Do you really dream about people, children!, being harmed so you can feel superior? Ugh! You might just be the perfect example of what is wrong with the vaccine-mandate crowd. I can't help you. But I still do wish you and yours long and happy lives.

I don't have to dream. I read about unvaccinated kids getting measles then attending NBA games in the news. The potential problems are obvious and even socially liberal states are reconsidering their vaccine law loopholes as a result. In my Iowa they are reconsidering the religious exemptions used by our Amish and Mennonite citizens.

In a somewhat similar matter, many years ago I diagnosed a patient with chickenpox (prior to the US vaccine IIRC.) His parents told me they were planning to fly to Florida for a vacation. I told them not to do that. I later learned they flew the extremely contagious kid there commercially in spite of me. It could have been fatal to some "Make a Wish" kid traveling to Disney. How would you like your kid invited to a chickenpox party without your consent AND against the "hosting kid's" doctor's explicit advice? If you were aware of the source and your child suffered serious consequences as a result wouldn't you be furious? Furious enough to enough to run it by a lawyer? Might not the well known nature of chickenpox be enough to argue that taking a child with known chickenpox on a plane was an irresponsible act for a lay person, much less a lay person who'd been explicitly warned against it by a doctor? Parents holding booze parties for underaged children get sued when a drunk kid gets in an accident driving home thereafter. Is flying with known chickenpox any less negligent? I'm not saying there should be liability for all anti-vax choices, but that there could be in some circumstances. Parents deserve broad, but not absolute and total deference for their parenting choices.