Oh for the days when half of all little kids died before their 5th birthday (which is still the norm in most of the world). No thanks -- I'll take a vaccines instead.
Yeah, but it wasn't all from childhood viral diseases. Burns from open fires accounted for a lot and bacterial infections and lack of good medical care for some too. Injuries and broken bones, appendicitis, allergic reactions,... No way we'd have a 50% mortality rate just from childhood diseases these days. It didn't happen when I was a kid and things are much better now. That's just alarmism.