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Vaccine Thought

I read this in today’s WSJ:

In the U.S., 20 states allow parents to opt out of mandatory childhood vaccinations for broadly defined reasons—such as “personal/philosophical” concerns—and 48 states offer religious exemptions. Washington state had an exemption rate of 7.6%, the nation’s highest, before tightening its rules in 2011, and some smaller counties in the state still have exemption rates as high as 30%.

I’d love to see a survey done on the political philosophy of folks who are opposed to vaccines and who wish to have the freedom to not have their children or themselves vaccinated despite laws to do so. I suspect they are not hanging out under the same tent as I am. So, if we think this is a fine idea, I look forward to the day when these folks rally in DC to support my right, either for religious reasons or “personal/philosophical” reasons to opt out of paying my taxes and obeying government regulations.

What is the difference? And don’t seriously try to tell me it has anything to do with “health” or “science.”

One Response to “Vaccine Thought”

  1. jb says:

    Great point. To take it further, it strikes me as rather twisted that mandatory health insurance is now the law of the land, yet vaccines, arguably one of the few instances of a rational government mandate, are apparently optional.

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