>>>I have no strong opinion/explanation on "what the heck happened" since 2000.
>
>Right, because the MSM is focused on partisan conspiracy theories.
>
>FWIW there's also an outbreak in Berlin. The Germans have a 97% vaccination rate amongst 1-year-olds compared to your 91%, so lets see what they come up with- especially since half of their new cases are adults. IMHO it'll boil down to herd immunity, sloppy adherence to vaccination schedules and other consequences when people think it's not such a big deal. FWIW they eradicated smallpox because everybody cooperated. These days an ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader would start an anti-Smallpox eradication movement, insisting that Smallpox is an invention of big pharma and doctors to line their coffers and/or blaming Obama.

And I'll once again recommend Chris Hayes' book "Twilight of the Elites" for a big-picture explanation of why such things gain traction today, when once they would have just made us point and chuckle.

Tamar