I definitely think that the lack of deadly disease (besides cancer) plays an extremely large role in how people in the United States are taking certain privileges for granted. Vaccination being one of them. However, just like mlee20 said, another main cause to anti-vaxxers is the false knowledge the media is spreading. I remember watching House MD and in one episode the mysterious disease is rabies. Rabies is something people are constantly reminded of in China and everyone gets vaccination for rabies when they are bitten or scratched by animals. But in America, it seems like something that would never happen to people. So I definitely think that the privileged situation Americans are in right now is causing some problems.

I think the failure to recognize the high morality by deadly diseases in developing countries and the positive impact of vaccines on our health definitely challenges people's belief about the significance of vaccination. Compared to the past when the world population suffered from fatal diseases like polio, these days especially young generations in developed nations don't know the bliss of vaccination. However, for some who are knowledgeable enough about vaccines and still don't think they are neccessary, those anti-vaxxers need to be respected.

I somewhat agree. In "developed" countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the incidence of preventable diseases is relatively low. Most children and adolescents in these countries have never even heard of Measles. Across the world, however, 3 million people die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases. Anti-vaxxers' logic in the 1st world has been sustained by the lack of the very diseases that vaccines prevent. They don't see the need to vaccinate for diseases that have been eradicated in their eyes. Even so, anti-vaxxers must be somewhat cognizant because finding the anti-vaxxer community and their logic requires personal research that would lead to unavoidable brushes with the uncomfortable statistics that are starkly pro-vaccine.

https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/global-immunization/diseases-and-vaccines-world-view

http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-communic-vpd.htm

I think ignorance definitely plays a role in the decisions of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. After all, the parents aren't doing so as part of a malicious agenda to undermine public health and re-release deadly diseases back into the mainframe of society. Ultimately, the logic comes from parental feelings of concern: "How do I know what's best for my child? My sister's son got a high fever following his vaccination. And I've heard vaccines sometimes cause allergic reactions. What if my child gets a high fever or allergic reaction too?" We can sympathize with these sentiments, however baseless or flimsy the logic they're built upon.

Of course, behind the anti-vaccine movement there exists at least some malicious intent. Were it only a matter of educating parents, the issue of vaccinations might be solved within months. But many "vaccine-truthers" continue to spread false information across the internet, which only perpetuates the problem. Parental concern, a virtue in it of itself, can provide a breeding ground through which deliberately-crafted lies can take root.

Agreed! The media frenzy in conjunction with celebrity endorsemts such as those of Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy can be very persuasive because unlike scientific reports parents can relate to other parents.

On the contrary, I feel like anti-vaxxers wouldn't be completely ignorant; the pervasive nature of the media and the internet ensures that we're all up to date with the latest about sicknesses and diseases. Parents might just be scared that vaccines might do something 'unnatural' to their children, and their anxiety is understandable, but not well-grounded in scientific fact. I guess there's a distinct lack of perspective here if parents don't understand how harmful diseases can be to an unvaccinated infant.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-families-are-not-alike/201808/why-i-was-anti-vaxxer