Re:How the Anti-Vaccine Community Is Responding to Covid-19
by GCSAQCMIYI on Friday April 17, 2020 @12:18PM
(#22900304)
>That herd immunity prevents the regular epidemics & pandemics common before vaccines
Like Scarlet fever?
Re:How the Anti-Vaccine Community Is Responding to Covid-19
by toss1 on Friday April 17, 2020 @03:03PM
(#22901889)
No.
Scarlet Fever is bacterial, not viral, and are fought by different parts of the body's immune system.
Few if any attempts at creating vaccines against bacteria are successful, whereas vaccines against viruses are typically more successful, although viruses such as Influenza can evolve new versions frequently, requiring new vaccine versions.
Freeloading
The anti-vaxxers are freeloading on the herd immunity created and maintained by the smart people.
That herd immunity prevents the regular epidemics & pandemics common before vaccines, when families often had 10 children to see a few survive to adulthood.
There is plenty deliberate ignorance of history, Dunning-Kruger Syndrome, and confirmation bias in their 'arguments', but the root seems to be a (likely) unconscious willingness to freeload on the benefits provided by others.
This is unfortunately coupled with a deliberate ignorance of and/or willingness to deliberately endanger the small subset of people with bona-fide medical conditions that contraindicate vaccination, and so genuinely rely on the herd immunity to survive.
It is far past time to coddle this deliberate ignorance and freeloading. If anti-vaxxers want to stay that way, fine, but they need to choose and not be permitted poison the well - vaccination needs to be required for alk access to public buildings, schools, transport, etc.