I’m afraid that this is one of the things that makes me really rather angry about those who would reject science. Those, that is, who keep insisting that there’s some problem with the current system of vaccinations. No, mercury in vaccines does not cause autism, no, the MMR vaccine does not cause autism. But not vaccinating children can indeed kill them:

A child has died from suspected diphtheria – the first fatality from the rare infection in Britain for 14 years, health chiefs disclosed yesterday.

The Health Protection Agency said diphtheria, which attacks the breathing system, was the “most likely” explanation for the death in London. The child had not been vaccinated.

The only reason the infection is indeed (thankfully) rare is that almost all children are indeed vaccinated against it. It’s fairly complex, three injection, one at two, one at three and one at four months. Then a booster before starting school and another between 16 and 18.

And the reason we go through all that effort is that it’s a great deal better than having to bury a child.

As more people reject the science, as more people fall for the woo woo stories about how children are damaged by vaccination then more children will die from these easily preventable diseases.

Grr.