What's equally surprising is the vagueness of the article as a whole.  Such practices were "common" as little as 15 years ago or so?  What does "common" mean?  I certainly never heard of such a practice, despite growing up without the vaccine and contracting chicken pox in high school.  If it was common, how is it now equated with a medieval mindset?  

The final quote is the one I find most curious - "vigilante vaccination".  Taking responsibility for your health is now equated with the illegal assumption of law enforcement powers?  There's no way I'd pay to have my children lick a lollipop from a total stranger to contract chicken pox, but I certainly am uneasy with equating the expectation that health care decisions can be made (to a certain extent, at least) by non-medical individuals with an illegal practice to be disquieting, at best.