Flu season is fast approaching and that means sore throats and runny noses, but thanks to advances in modern health science, symptoms are more of a bother than serious concern. More importantly, survival rates for those afflicted by common influenza subtypes are high and the chances of a seasonal epidemic morphing into a deadly pandemic are low.

But these days, in this political climate, the fragile safety that Americans enjoy is crumbling — not for ineffective vaccines, but because once-fringe vaccine skepticism is eating away at the edges of a well-inoculated population. Hawaii residents, thankfully, are generally open to routine vaccinations. That must continue.

The danger posed by anti-vaccine dogma cannot be overstated. It has become particularly alarming as unorthodox beliefs make

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