The debate over the use of vaccines will never go away because of people giving in to pseudo-science and debunked theories instead of relying on fact-based information from reputable sources.

I don`t think anti-vaxxers have a clue what it was like before vaccines were invented, when people died of diseases like smallpox by the droves until that virus was wiped out by modern medicine, and a more enlightened population than we seem to have now.

There can be a case made that we live in a too-antiseptic world, afraid to get our hands dirty. But that does not excuse putting children at risk of childhood illnesses that can kill. It does not excuse any fact-deprived people of putting others at risk because they don’t think they are safe to use.

Of all the great things that the internet provides, it also provides people with the means to spread their most ridiculous conspiracy theories ranging from the Truthers about the 9/11 attack to the Loch Ness monster which are believed by an alarming number of otherwise people.

In the case of vaccines and pseudo-science beliefs, I say no, it is not each to his own in deciding to be vaccinated as that is beyond selfish and dangerous to others. If we truly believe that children need protection we wouldn’t give in to the anti-vaxxers and would make vaccination mandatory in order to enter school: public or private.

Robert T. Rock