RE: Bachmann Can't Pony Up
September 26, 2011 at 1:16 pm
(This post was last modified: September 26, 2011 at 1:57 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Since only one of those two involved human beings directly, I'll link you the wiki on smallpox. Vaccination and isolation is exactly how it was done. On a global scale. (it took 187 years)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication
HIV was easily preventable by not consuming, or having intercourse with the non-human carriers. All you had to do to stay away from Influenza was to avoid domestic animals. These two were not actually human diseases for 180 some odd thousand years of human history. How about that for easily avoided by other means? It's nice to see survival rates go up, but wouldn't infection rates of exactly 0% be preferable? Matter of fact, HIV is "easily preventable by other means" in the same way that HPV is, so should we not consider making any (theoretical) vaccination against it mandatory? Now, it may be counterproductive for a virus to kill the host, but they aren't exactly thinking machines are they? Honestly the only credible prophecies of doom floating around right now are the ones involving epidemics. HPV is obviously highly communicable, and cancer is obviously deadly. I'm not arguing that the current strain of HPV is going to nix us all, I'm arguing that any measures we can take to improve human health overall are good measures. I'm arguing that it is almost a given that any virus that is already preying upon us will get nasty as shit given time. The window for immunization exists exactly as long as HPV remains in it's current form. If it does not, the vaccinations you decide to give your child will be useless.
This vaccine may brush up against some of our ideas of sexual morality or responsibility, or discussions of rights etc, but honestly I don't feel that those things have any place at all in a discussion about vaccination. As Moros has said, I don't think any of this would be an issue were we contemplating a vaccine for the common cold (as implausible as that is).
(I couldn't resist the obit..lol)
Half assed eradication measures have traditionally led to stronger strains. That's the balance here. You either annihilate something entirely or run the risk of actually making it worse, as far as the control or spread of any given virus is concerned. We're actually very good at this as far as the viruses (or parasites) that plague our livestock and crops are concerned, eradication of human viral agents lags behind, gee, I wonder why. My uncle Kermit died not but a few weeks ago after 60 some odd years battling polio btw, approximately 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all. Only 1% of cases end in the nasty shit apparently, so maybe we shouldn't pursue that eradication program either? It's easy to prevent anyway, since it's one of those ass-to-mouth types of things, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinderpest#Eradication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliomyelitis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm_disease
(an extra, just for the hell of it, and not related to vaccination)
If this sort of thing makes me an extremist, I guess I'm just going to have to accept that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication
HIV was easily preventable by not consuming, or having intercourse with the non-human carriers. All you had to do to stay away from Influenza was to avoid domestic animals. These two were not actually human diseases for 180 some odd thousand years of human history. How about that for easily avoided by other means? It's nice to see survival rates go up, but wouldn't infection rates of exactly 0% be preferable? Matter of fact, HIV is "easily preventable by other means" in the same way that HPV is, so should we not consider making any (theoretical) vaccination against it mandatory? Now, it may be counterproductive for a virus to kill the host, but they aren't exactly thinking machines are they? Honestly the only credible prophecies of doom floating around right now are the ones involving epidemics. HPV is obviously highly communicable, and cancer is obviously deadly. I'm not arguing that the current strain of HPV is going to nix us all, I'm arguing that any measures we can take to improve human health overall are good measures. I'm arguing that it is almost a given that any virus that is already preying upon us will get nasty as shit given time. The window for immunization exists exactly as long as HPV remains in it's current form. If it does not, the vaccinations you decide to give your child will be useless.
This vaccine may brush up against some of our ideas of sexual morality or responsibility, or discussions of rights etc, but honestly I don't feel that those things have any place at all in a discussion about vaccination. As Moros has said, I don't think any of this would be an issue were we contemplating a vaccine for the common cold (as implausible as that is).
(I couldn't resist the obit..lol)
Half assed eradication measures have traditionally led to stronger strains. That's the balance here. You either annihilate something entirely or run the risk of actually making it worse, as far as the control or spread of any given virus is concerned. We're actually very good at this as far as the viruses (or parasites) that plague our livestock and crops are concerned, eradication of human viral agents lags behind, gee, I wonder why. My uncle Kermit died not but a few weeks ago after 60 some odd years battling polio btw, approximately 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all. Only 1% of cases end in the nasty shit apparently, so maybe we shouldn't pursue that eradication program either? It's easy to prevent anyway, since it's one of those ass-to-mouth types of things, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinderpest#Eradication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poliomyelitis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_worm_disease
(an extra, just for the hell of it, and not related to vaccination)
If this sort of thing makes me an extremist, I guess I'm just going to have to accept that.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
