I have very strong reservations about the viability of Ben Carson as a presidential candidate. While there are silly and stupid things happening in this country, America ain’t Nazi Germany.

Nevertheless, I am glad to see that Carson has injected a dose of reason into the hysteria over vaccines:

Certain communicable diseases have been largely eradicated by immunization policies in this country and we should not allow those diseases to return by foregoing safe immunization programs, for philosophical, religious or other reasons when we have the means to eradicate them.

In recent days, both Chris Christie and Rand Paul (who are usually on the opposite side of things) have both taken heat on comments they have made that vaccines should be voluntary rather than mandatory. Paul got into a shouting match with CNBC’s Kelly Evans about it a couple of days ago in which he claimed that vaccines caused “profound mental disorders” in some children.

When it comes to childhood vaccinations, I think I am more inclined to listen to a pediatric neurosurgeon rather than an ophthalmologist.