[lumberjim]

Back in 1999, our first pediatrician (a large practice) stopped seeing us because we decided not to get the mmr. The doctor that was trying to convince us to get it was maybe 27 years old. She said she had seen so many kids die of measles, and it was a horrible killer.

I think there were something like 60 cases of measles reported per year in the US at that time and 0 fatalities. I think they had a dog in the fight. Maybe she lied. Maybe she had been living in India. ... but she was clearly deceptive.

Do doctor's practices keep statistics of how many patients are/are not vaccinated? Are there financial ramifications or rewards involved?

Anyway, to answer the question... if my kids were going to India, or another high risk area, I would seriously consider it. ... but while they are in school, if they get ANY immu, they have to get ALL, because we would lose the philosophical exemption. They are both strong and healthy. If, by some freak vector, they did contract measles or mumps, they would receive prompt medical care, and have an excellent chance of surviving it anyway.

Once they are adults, if they go into the medical profession, or join greenpeace or something that would put them in contact with nasty things that could be thwarted by vaccines, then I would probably encourage them to research the vaccines, and go about getting select immunizations.

It is 100% risk reward in my opinion. So far, the risk is greater than the reward.