"This is Emily, she may have Polio"

There are many things I do as a parent that are probably not in the best interest of my child. He has eaten cake, and hot dogs, and if I had had a lollipop with me at Easter Mass, I would have had it in his mouth faster than you can say "Amen". I do not always respond ASAP when he cries, as long as I know he is not hurt, hungry or wet. Sometimes babies cry. There are many parents who would look down on me for that. That's ok. I do not feel I am hurting him or anyone else by teaching him that there are other people in the world and he is not the center of everyone's universe (just ours).
Recently, I have met several parents both online and IRL (that's "in real life" for you, Mrs. Azar) who do not vaccinate their children. Now, while my feeding my child a hot dog can only harm him, I would never give a hot dog to another child without asking their parents permission. I know that some people eat or-gan-ic (I think that's what it's called ;)) foods, and the thought of a hot dog on their precious little one's lips is like willingly jabbing cactus in their eye. Why, then, is it ok for people to pass diseases like polio, measels, and rubella around like it's applesauce (organic, of course). I am well aware of the recent studies that are trying to link vaccines and the autism epidemic. They have not found ANY solid evidence to link the two. There is, however, proof that polio and rubella are pretty crappy things to catch. That is why they invented the vaccines. Now, if your child has a serious egg allergy and you know that the MMR shot contains trace amounts of egg, I could perhaps see the reasoning behind choosing not to vaccinate. In that case, the risk of an allergic reaction is greater than the risk of becoming infected with polio. Fine. What I dont get is the folks that simply don't vaccinate because they feel it's not the right choice for their child. Ok, then quarantine your child. Don't bring them to playdates at the mall where they can get tons of illnesses and pass them on to babies, like my son, who are not fully immune yet. The common cold is one thing, Mumps is quite another.
I am simply baffled at this. I know it is not illegal not to vaccinate, and so there is nothing I can do but keep Grady up on his shots and pray that little "Meadow" and "River", the healthy food kids, don't pass diptheria on while stealing a bite of the white bread Grady has for lunch.