02-02-2016, 06:22 AM
There were people against the smallpox vaccine, which is why it took so long for the disease to be eradicated in the U.S. The polio vaccine was better received, and quickly reduced outbreaks when it was introduced. I still remember standing in the long line at school to be given a small white disposable container of sugar water with the vaccine.
As Rob pointed out, nobody worries about smallpox and polio in this country anymore, because vaccines have eliminated them.
Think about the threads on Punaweb when there is an outbreak of Dengue, or Ebola. People are terrified those diseases will enter our neighborhoods and become a permanent threat. We all ask, "why doesn't somebody do something about this?" We're willing to allow almost any method be used against it when we perceive the disease is dangerous, has serious or deadly consequences or could require our daily attention to avoid infection.
Anti-vaxxers are willing to take the risk of not vaccinating their children only because a large majority of intelligent parents vaccinate their own children, which reduces the incidence of those diseases in the general population. If almost everyone is vaccinated the likelihood their own child will contract the disease becomes negligible. That is, until an outbreak occurs in an area with a higher proportion of unvaccinated children. Then their child becomes a carrier, reintroducing the disease into the population. But the carrier's parent most likely still won't take responsibility because, somebody else gave their child the disease, right?
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard
As Rob pointed out, nobody worries about smallpox and polio in this country anymore, because vaccines have eliminated them.
Think about the threads on Punaweb when there is an outbreak of Dengue, or Ebola. People are terrified those diseases will enter our neighborhoods and become a permanent threat. We all ask, "why doesn't somebody do something about this?" We're willing to allow almost any method be used against it when we perceive the disease is dangerous, has serious or deadly consequences or could require our daily attention to avoid infection.
Anti-vaxxers are willing to take the risk of not vaccinating their children only because a large majority of intelligent parents vaccinate their own children, which reduces the incidence of those diseases in the general population. If almost everyone is vaccinated the likelihood their own child will contract the disease becomes negligible. That is, until an outbreak occurs in an area with a higher proportion of unvaccinated children. Then their child becomes a carrier, reintroducing the disease into the population. But the carrier's parent most likely still won't take responsibility because, somebody else gave their child the disease, right?
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves