On the Grande Prairie Facebook page there is a post, although does not say in so many words, about vaccination due to a case of measles in Alberta and they fact that children “MAY” not be admitted into schools if they have not been vaccinated.

For those who have not spent the time looking at the US stats here are a few for you, I was unable to find Canadian but the figures would have a similar correlation.

Between 1958 and 1962 there where on average 503,282 cases per year of measles
In 1998 there where 89

In 1968 there where 152,209 cases of mumps, this being the first year of reporting and the start of the vaccine.
In 1998 there where 606

Between 1900 and 1904 there was an average of 48,164 per year in 1998 there was 0, smallpox has been eliminated.

So if we where to get rid of vaccines what would the effect be on our children and society as a whole?

Vaccines are needed to protect the many and vaccines only work when you have a high percentage of people vaccinated. So if a few isolated children do not get vaccinated then the many being vaccinated protect the few, but as the numbers of non vaccinated rises so does the chances of infection. There is a point that you pass where the side effects of the vaccine pale into insignificance compared to actually catching the disease.

Over the ages health care has improved, this including discovery of vaccines, did you know that the average life span in the middle ages was around 45 years?

We all want to protect our children but to not vaccinate because you think it will harm your child is very short-sighted, as I said earlier, it would be OK for you not to vaccinate your child as the herd will protect. But as soon as that herd stops being vaccinated on mass then we run the risk of epidemics.

I am all for the rights of people, but when you live in society you have to conform to certain rules, this is one of them.

References for the stats came from:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056803.htm?mobile=nocontent