None of my children had measles, mumps or rubella -

[hedgehog]

29. The benefit of getting these life long immunity to these diseases is received at the cost

of actually having the diseases which can make you very, very sick. There is also the risk of complications including hospitalization, deafness, blindness, sterility, and brain injury.

It's a case of choose your tune and pay the piper. Most people will survive these illnesses with no problems. Without vaccines, you select the risk of being one of the people who lives with permanent damage.

There is also the consideration of putting other people at risk because you are spreading a disease.I think I had rubella during the 1964 epidemic. I know I have a high titer of antibodies to rubella. My guess is that I was shedding the virus before any visible symptoms showed. I was at school, the grocery store and church. Did I expose a woman who maybe was unaware she was pregnant? Whooping cough is receiving attention today because there are enough active cases and people with no immunity to allow it to spread through the community. It can be a killer for young children and infants.