They edited out the word "religion" from my post. It should read "I define religion as a faith-based belief system, so yes, it's a religion".

We are constantly striving to eradicate disease and we are fortunate that over the years, we have continued developing new and effective vaccines. The number of vaccines we administer has absolutely no bearing on whether any or all are necessary or beneficial.

Yeah, maybe I should have voted "other." Most of the anti-vaxxers probably wear tinfoil hats but there have been problems with vaccines too. The thing is, the diseases themselves would kill or harm many more people than the vaccines to prevent the diseases do. Of course that's no consolation if it's your child that suffers permanent damage.

Anyone who says "period" in such an absolutist fashion is just as extremist as the population he is demonizing.

I just got here, but i certainly expected a higher level of discussion. This is middle school, absolutist mud slinging. Where is the application of reason and skepticism? I feel like I am hearing from people on a pharm payroll. There is great room for questioning vaccinations, prescription medicines, unnecessary surgeries.....the list is endless.

@Humanist5 Wrong. The evidence is not in doubt by any serious person on vaccines. they work, they are safe, there is no reason whatsoever to doubt their effectiveness. The anti-vaxxers are dangerous, they do not care about the lives of children and others they are endangering by their lies. They are no different than faith healers and those who believe in homeopathy and naturopathy.

Why do you question it’s validity?

@FreethoughtKaty Why would I not?

@FreethoughtKaty, @Deiter I agree. As I stated in my comment, I am for limited vaccination. I think it has a place.

@patchoullijulie unless you have an allergy problem or some other medical condition that makes vaccination unwise, there is no reason whatsoever for a 'limited' vaccination schedule. No valid medical reason at all.

@patchoullijulie because there’s no good reason to. That’s like asking “why would I not believe in a god?”.

@eric788 I disagree

@FreethoughtKaty No it is not the same. There are many people who think that there are good reasons to question the validity of total vaccination. They cannot all be dismissed as quacks and fanatic's, although fanatics do exist, they are on both sides of the argument. Why is it that a person is not allowed to at the very least question the validity of vaccinations without being labelled as a quack/fanatic?

@patchoullijulie I wouldn’t call anyone a quack for questioning vaccines, but
I would say they are irrational. There is a reason you’ve never known anyone who came down with smallpox. And polio is almost globally eradicated due to vaccines. We get the typhoid fever vaccine every two years so that if we ever contract it, our symptoms will be much less severe. We know this stuff.

@FreethoughtKaty I am not irrational. I have said I am for limited vaccination.

@patchoullijulie The evidence is in and is incontrovertible. So which easily preventable diseases do you suppose children should die from with your limited vaccination schedule? Because that is what you are advocating with your 'reasonableness'.

If it were just them, I’d happily agree. Unfortunately the primary victims tend to be their children who get sick with easily preventable diseases.

@Katrik And people with compromised immune systems who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons.

I say vaccine is a religion, science is a religion. And sooner or later science will be the cause of your death.

@GipsyOfNewSpain neither of those qualify as religions. Neither promote faith, nor deities, nor worship, neither make claims of a supernatural nature, neither promise an afterlife, neither has places of worship, or priests or sacred texts.

Science can’t cause anyone’s death as it is merely the methodology by which we pursue knowledege and construct predictive models of the universe.
All conclusions that scientists reach are believed not on faith, but because the evidence supports those conclusions. Even then those beliefs are only held tentatively, and will be revised upon the discovery of new challenging evidence.

Vaccines are used because numerous clinical trials have conclusively demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that they work. Doctors recommended you get them, not because of faith, but because they have been shown to prevent disease.

@Katrik I gonna give you the benefit of the doubt to ignore you... but that kind of naivety got trump elected by people like you.

@GipsyOfNewSpain In other words, you have no argument, but also lack the humility to admit when you were wrong

@GipsyOfNewSpain I'm not going after you in a hostile way nor am I here to fight you. I'm here to have a conversation. You say science is a religion. Please define religion and then show me how science fits into that definition of religion. If I use the most common definition of religion which is: the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. I can not see how you fit science into that, but maybe you have a different meaning for religion. The last thing I'll say, and I say it with respect, I think you're throwing out the words, "science is a religion " as a means of adding conflict, and you don't actually see it as a religion. I believe you see it as a dangerous uncontrolled ideology that has the potential for great harm. I wouldn't agree with that either, but it would at least be a position you could defend. When you call science a religion, you're trapping yourself from the start. @Katrik was clear and supported his point and he was not hostile toward you, but your response was hostile and empty of facts to defend your statement. Whenever you get to that point it's important to ask yourself, Am I wrong?

@GipsyOfNewSpain The scientific method requires testable evidence with no accommodations for faith. Religious depend of faith (belief without evidence) often with no recognition for the need for testable evidence. How do you consider sceince a faith based religion? If you wish to answer with "I never said faith. . . " How do you define religion? and Furthermore, Katrik was dead on. Your "that kind of naivety got trump elected by people like you." reflects negatively on you as it is completely unfounded.

Well said

She's not just putting her sons in peril. There has been a measles outbreak in St. Paul MN that has affected people who were immunocompromised -- other than just children. People on chemo or transplant patients or even the elderly can die of diseases that vaccines had controlled..