>Thanks for the info - I see they have herd immunity thresholds by disease and some basic math.
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>I think we will go with the CDC regs (which was sort of my gut feel, but the feedback here has strengthened my concerns)
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>I found out tonight that my mother-in-law's best friend is in a huge battle with the husband, on whether their teenage daughters should get the cervical cancer vaccine. The mother is in favor, but the father is totally opposed. I'm sure that when my daughter becomes a "tweener" I'll have to learn to accept some things, but I sure don't want to be that kind of road block.
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>Thanks...

My daughter's doctor tried for 11 years to get pregnant. Just last year she had her first baby. It was obviously a huge moment in her and her husband's lives. She once told me something along the lines of:

Prevailing thought is that I should tell you your daughter needs all vaccines. When I asked her which vaccines would she give her own child, she replied the ones which have been tested and in use for a period and have demonstrated no serious neurological side effects. You risk other children and senior citizens if you don't. But, I wouldn't be the first in line for a new vaccine. I would wait until it had been in production and use for a year or two unless the disease the vaccine targets is active in your local area. But you have to remember that you are always in contact with people who travel to 3rd world countries and even though they receive their shots before they travel, there is always a risk they might bring something back and expose you and your daughter and even coming here you expose my clinic.

There are times that the military gets put on a plane in the middle of the night with no idea where they are headed. The are given shots enroute (and not allowed to refuse). That is not always far enough in advance to even work for some things. I'm always surprised at the illnesses and diseases that are still out there. We tend to forget and lose touch with that alittle bit here because of our health care system and the practice of giving our children immunizations. When your daughter starts school, she will not be allowed to attend without shot records showing she's had certain vaccines. Some private schools require certain immunization as well.

As you know, I chose to take her advice. For years we were around folks from other countries, including many 3rd world countries, quite often so our risk may have been greater than yours. I think that if you choose your words carefully, you might find your pediatrician more honest with you than you expected.