Compulsory vaccinations: Where do we draw the line?

[MineralMan]

14. The flu vaccine is variable in its effectiveness.

This year's version, for example, missed the mutated H2N3 that is currently circulating. I get my shot every year, because I'm older. The flu vaccine reduces the number of deaths from the disease every year. Should it be mandatory? I don't know. But, when the universal flu vaccine that is under development is available, then I vote yes for mandatory vaccination with it. I'll be the first to line up.

I'm hopeful that I won't get it this year, and am taking the usual precautions. The thing is that my wife and I have her 86 year old mother to think about. She needs assistance with things. We need to not get the flu, so we can help her.

I notice that you did not comment on my post about the smallpox vaccine. It was the first vaccine. It took a very long time to eradicate smallpox, but that was accomplished, due to universal vaccination. Many people fought that, too. From your OP, apparently you were not aware that nobody needs to be vaccinated against smallpox now, thanks to universal vaccination that eliminated that disease. Diphtheria is next. It killed many, many children in the 19th century. Now, we have almost zero cases of the disease in the US each year, and most of those are in recent immigrants from places where the disease still exists.

This science works. It saves lives. I like the idea of saving lives.