Poll: Are We Over-Vaccinating Our Children?

The state Department of Health last week touted the five-millionth childhood vaccination recorded in the department's immunization registry. Director Michael Fine said the department is "proud of reaching this milestone" and said the registry, known as KIDSNET, helps officials identify vunerable children who might not otherwise have access to the vaccinations.

But an increasing number of mostly affluent and educated parents are opting not to vaccinate their children for a variety of reasons. Most believe that they're dangerous and have sped the propogation of especially virulent and drug-resistant disease strains. Others claim there is a link to vaccines and a variety of disorders including autism.

Every state allows medial exemptions, allowing parents to choose to not inoculate their children. The New York Times in 2008 quoted one parent as saying “I refuse to sacrifice my children for the greater good," and when she began reading about vaccines and how they work, in her words: "I saw medical studies, not given to use by the mainstream media, connecting them with neurological disorders, asthma and immunology.”'

In 1991, 1 percent of children in states that allowed pesonal-belief exemptions went without vaccines. By 2004, that figure had more than doubled to 2.54 percent.

Meanwhile, there have been several notable outbreaks of certian diseases that had been virtually eradicated for several generations, such as measels and mumps, and many point to the increased vaccination exemptions as the cause.

What do you think? Are we over-vaccinating our children? Or are parents who choose not to vaccinate their children putting them in harms way for invalid reasons?