Vaccination.

I'm all for it myself. Others...not so much. Why? Who knows. I'm sure you could google a conspiracy theory about vaccines. God knows there's more conspiracy theories about than you can shake a stick at. 9/11, the moon landing, alienabductions (and anal probing), Roswell, just to name a few. Notice they're American?? Anyway...
Back in the day of rampant epidemics (on occasion), lack of antibiotics, sewerage or proper hygiene, in 1796, a Dr Edward Jenner began work on the first vaccine, which for smallpox. After some experimentation on some unsuspecting milkmaids, he successfully created the first vaccine. He then had enough confidence in it to test it on his own son, thankfully also successfully. Even though he is credited with the first vaccine, apparently he's not the first, but they are not as well known (or at all), or as scientific about it. Also some/all of the others used inoculation (live germ to immunize), rather than vaccination (deactivated germ), thanks to Louis Pasteur.
We actually managed to get rid of smallpox (except for some strains kept in labs) in 1977. The WHO launched a campaign to get rid of polio by 2000. It hasn't happened as of yet, but we live in hope. Apparently measles is next on the "hit" list. Unfortunately, we'll never be able to get rid of tetanus, since it commonly resides in and around soil, but there is vaccination.
Onto modern times there are a plethora of vaccines available. I've been a nurse immunized for a few years now, so I know the childhood schedule fairly well. It's a program I believe in. Unlike some, such as the Australian vaccination network. Now there's a misnomer isn't there? The actress Jenny McCarthy has publicly stated that the MMR (measles mumps and rubella) vaccine caused her son to develop autism (which she states btw that she has cured him of). It is organizations like this and others like it. Never mind the fact that the study by DR Andrew Wakefield has once and for all been discredited, we are still dealing with the fall out. Diseases which were once on the decrease are now on the rise. Pertussis (whooping cough), measles, tetanus and just recently in Brisbane a death of a young women from diphtheria. Apparently she was unimmunized and caught from an immunized friend that had been overseas recently. The last confirmed case of diphtheria was in 1993, I'm not sure if the patient died from it.
Why the (extended) rant? It's a combination of the young woman in Brisbane and some of the steadfastly obstinate and inventive people I see at work and their interesting reasons for refusing to vaccinate their babies.
Case in point. Diphtheria: effects of diphtheria. The bacteria Causes a sore throat initially. It can progress to a pseudo membrane which covers the throat, meaning unless a tracheostomy is performed the patient can't breathe. The bacteria can produce a toxin leading to heart disease and peripheral nerve damage. It has a high mortality rate, with between 5 and 20% dying and is easily transmitted by coughing etc. It can be immunized against at 2, 4, 6 months and 4 years, with boosters at 15 years. The possible side effects from that tend to be fever, soreness from the injection and possible swelling. Allergic reactions are so rare that I don't know any of my colleagues have ever seen them. So which would you choose?
Is immunization a perfect science? No. Are there risks with vaccinating? Yes. Are there preservatives in vaccines? Yes. Do we give babies a lot of vaccines? Yes.
Are the vaccines well tolerated? Yes. Do they reduce the risks of vaccine preventable diseases? Yes. Are they free and easy to get? Yes.
Any more questions?
My references (god this has turned into a scholarly piece, hasn't it)
National health and medical research centre (NHMRC)
Australian childhood immunization register ACIR
World health authority WHO
Centre for disease control CDC
Yes even Wikipedia (shame I can't say it's peer reviewed)
If you must look up the Australian vaccination network AVN (even if for some light reading)