Vaccine Nation 0
Stuart Blume offers thorough look at the concept of “herd immunity.” Methinks that it is a worthwhile read in these viral times. A nugget:
On the whole, no. In one study, for example, participants reported that their personal decisions were unaffected by whether people around them were vaccinated or not. Even among those who said they were influenced by their social network, few referred to herd immunity specifically. Some people recognized that childhood immunization had indirect benefits to the community. Nevertheless, they thought about immunizing their own children in terms of what they saw as their child’s benefit.
I must say that, when I was eagerly anticipated getting vaccinated against COVID, I was thinking primarily of my own safety and that of those around me, but I was also thinking of the society as a whole. Perhaps that’s because I’m old enough to remember pictures of little children (my age at the time) in iron lungs because of polio and how, once Dr. Salk and then Dr. Sabin perfected their vaccines, those pictures (and polio) went away.
I saw with my own eyes dramatic proof of the effectiveness of vaccines, and my mind goggles at portion of our populace which denies the evidence of things seen.
