However, for some reason the fact that vaccines sometimes go wrong is a massive issue. If a child took a reactionto say amoxicillin I can't imagine a campaign warning parents of the dangers of antibiotics. even if it causes permanent damage. Yes when it's a vaccine it's a different story.
The difference, on both an emotional and psychological level, is because one is elective and the other a treatment. A bad reaction to an antibiotic is bad, it's also a medication given as a result of clinical need. Vaccination is a preventative choice, so when you choose to have your healthy child vaccinated and it goes wrong the guilt is crippling (my DD has no permanent physical effects but had a near fatal allergic reaction). I made a choice and my healthy child nearly died... I have to live with the fact that my decision resulted in my DD going into cardiac arrest.
The other half of the issue is that bad reactions to antibiotics and other meds are openly acknowledged, not so bad reactions to vaccines in many cases - coincidence, something they are/drank, they must have been poorly and that's caused the reaction/damage...All explanations I've heard. Perhaps if the medical profession were more willing to discuss vaccine related issues, more people would have more faith in their explanations.
I'm a scientist, I can do the risk/benefit analysis and I believe that in general the benefits outweigh the risks of vaccination. I also think it's unfair that those of us who end up refusing further vaccinations because the risks are too great, are assumed to be antivax cranks with no social awareness.