"Insofar as I know babies still have to get the shot against this."
No, they don't. This is one parents can refuse, and over the last 10 years or so, many have. Some parents are stupid.
My sister wishes she was "stupid". My nephew's life was DESTROYED by a "harmless DPT shot". He would have been much better off getting the chance to fight off the disease.
To be fair some of these shots can have severe reactions. This is an area where some parents anguish over what to do. Get the child the shot or not? We did and eventually opted to go with the shot. Worked for us and out child had no problem.
Let me ask you this. We face a similar situation again. The CDC is recommending that children under 15 get a meningitis vaccine. Do you or don't you? We had several kids die from meningitis when I was in high school. Do we have our child get the meningitis vaccine when he gets his other booster this summer?