My father told me about the kids in the hospital on either side of him who died from diphtheria when he was about 8 years old (he was born in 1925) and about his friend who died from scarlet fever and my mom's friend who died from complications from the mumps. I was born post=polio vaccine and my grandparents actually knew Jonas Salk. I was as fully vaccinated as a child of the 60's could be - smallpox and polio were about it. I actually had all of the MMR, as well as chicken pox, pertussis, scarlet fever (for which there still is no vaccine), German measles (4 times!) and I lived, but I was lucky.
Mumps can cause sterility in boys. Measles can kill; it killed Roald Dahl's daughter in the 1960's. A teenaged boy in my town died a few years ago from pertussis, apparently he hadn't been vaccinated. My oldest son contracted pertussis this year but it was a mild case because he's had his shots. I had him vaccinated on his 1st birthday, which was early, because there was an outbreak in NYC at the time and I was concerned.
When HPV first came out, I was nervous but my pediatrician, whom I trusted implicitly, told me after 2 years to give it to my daughter, so I did. A year later, he suggested I give it to the boys, so all 4 are fully vaccinated. My daughter's arm swelled after the first shot, but no other side effects for any of them. I feel like I am protecting my future grandchildren by protecting my sons' partners.
As for chicken pox, oldest boy got it when he was 2 (1993, pre-vaccination) and it was AWFUL. He had pox all over his body, including the tip of his penis and in his anus. His fever went close to 105 and he convulsed. I sometimes wonder if his issues didn't stem, at least in part, from that. I cried every day for three weeks, till he got over it, and then I got to cry again when daughter, who was 20 months at the time, got it. The 2 middle boys (now 18 and 20) got the vaccination. Then, my babyboy was exposed to chicken pox at 8 months and came down with it because he was too young to vaccinate. He was so sick and I was so angry. I called the mother who knowingly brought a sick child to my daughter's 8th birthday party and yelled her up one end of the phone and down the other - she said "It's only a childhood disease." I told her if my son died, hers would, too. I didn't mean it but I was livid. I never permitted my daughter to play with that kid again and actually told the school that I didn't want him in her class again, at least until babyboy was old enough to completely vaccinate.
Many of difficult child's issues trace back to the RSV he had at three months and if that shot had been around when my kids were babies, they'd have had it.
Oldest boy's girlfriend once said she wasn't sure about vaccinating. Before I could comment, my son said to her "What are you, kidding me? I would not have kids with anyone who won't vaccinate..." I just shut up.
Sorry this is long but I really feel strongly about this issue. Maybe it's because I once met Mr. Salk?