evidence: The fact that natural rubella virus infection can cause musculoskeletal symptoms including arthritis only adds to the cloudiness of the picture. This example also illustrates some of the dilemmas that emerge from conclusions based on the VAERS and VICP reports. Research on children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who had undergone primary immunization showed that MMR booster vaccination was immunogenic and did not lead to any deterioration of arthritis symptoms (36). Also, it is clear that proper application of rubella vaccination prevents the congenital rubella syndrome and protects children from significant morbidity and mortality (37). [...] Confusion and concern over the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been present since the introduction of HPV vaccination in 2006. This vaccine has been plagued with false accusations of being ineffective, dangerous, or conducive to teenage promiscuity. Studies have shown these statements to be false and the vaccine has proven effective despite parental resistance to its utilization (64). Though it promises to prevent the majority of the 530,000 cervical cancers worldwide that represent the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women, and prevents oropharyngeal, penile, and anal cancers, attempts to legally mandate this vaccine caused considerable uproar perhaps similar to that noted with attempts to mandate smallpox vaccine in England with the 1853 Vaccination Act (2,3). It is problematic that a vaccine that can prevent sexually transmitted disease is not accepted by a society that does not provide comprehensive sex education to its children (65).