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"But that point should apply equally to research DISPROVING vaccines, meds, etc."

Truth is truth. It should go both ways.

"A good example of this would be the Rotavirus vaccine in the late 90's(?). After it was approved and on the general market, it was found to cause a potentially life-threatening abdominal disorder in children receiving it, and was pulled off the market."

There's always some risk, I agree. But the problem is that the pharm companies have seriously hurt their own credibility because they have delayed taking certain meds off the market even when they knew there were potentially serious side effects. This was the case for Vioxx or Bextra, I think. Very serious stuff, and a company producing a product like this needs to be held to a higher standard, I believe.

"in order for a vaccine to reach it's maximum effectiveness from a public health point of view, it needs widespread use"

Yeah, I know, the herd immunity thing. I understand that concept, but human nature is such that if people really thought it was a great idea and the benefits outweighed potential risks there wouldn't be any need for coercion. That has certainly been true in past years for many vaccinations. I mean, if Osama finds a way to start a dangerous flu epidemic or something like that then they won't need to coerce anyone to take the vaccine, people will be fighting over the existing supply.

human nature is such that if people really thought it was a great idea and the benefits outweighed potential risks there wouldn't be any need for coercion.

I can partially agree on this; a vaccine to prevent the effects of biological warfare is a good example. However, the downside to that theory is that people take the diseases prevented by vaccines for granted. When was the last time you saw measles? The last time I saw them was back in the 60's when I had them. Granted, there have been sporadic outbreaks here and there, but most people under the age of 40 have probably never seen measles. Even chicken pox is much less prevalent now than 10 years ago (although 20% of those receiving it still get chicken pox). Given the fact that a disease is "out of sight, out of mind", does that make it safe to forego the vaccine?