By Bill Lawrence
To eliminate all confusion, I’ll spell it out that I’m not an anti-vaxxer. 
I think vaccinations are a good thing. I have been vaccinated up the kazoo all my life. I’ve never worried about polio or smallpox or the whooping cough. If I cut myself on a rusty car part, I hope my tetanus shot is up to date.
Anti-vaxxers, mull this around: What’s preferable, a foreign substance entering your body via the broken end of a rusty muffler or via a sterile needle?
Just the same, if a family wants to live a vaccine-free lifestyle, I support and defend their right to do so. The catch is that I also support and defend the rights of organizations to require vaccinations to participate in them. In fact, I think public schools should require vaccinations. Certain businesses such as medical facilities where contact with at-risk populations is to be expected should require vaccinations.
The way to make everybody happy is to provide alternatives to those who want independent lifestyles. Examples would be cyber-schools and subsidized homeschooling for anti-vaxxer families.
Regarding conspiracies, I live in Lyme disease ground zero. A while back, I asked my doctor for the since-discontinued vaccine. He talked me out of it saying he was only recommending it for those doing outdoor labor. In other words, the risk/benefit health issues was being taken seriously by the professionals. There was no push to get me to take this substance. There is no conspiracy.
Anti-Vaxxer Not Here