They are painful rites of passage for American children, from infancy through elementary school. Kids dread them, their parents reluctantly accept them, and the government mandates them. And, until recently, few really questioned the need for--or the safety of--vaccinations.
Now, alarmed by reports of severe reactions, a series of unsettling announcements by health authorities and contentious congressional hearings, not to mention fear-mongering on the Internet, a small but growing number of parents are contesting national vaccination policy.
They suspect that the fusillade of 22 injections imposed on children by age six may, alone or in combination, pose significant dangers. Although the...
