Re: TO VAX OR NOT TO VAX, THAT IS THE QUESTION
Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:27 am
I don't think I'm missing the point, Byblos. If I want to vaccinate my child against one or ten different diseases, then my child is vaccinated from that one or those ten diseases. She's not at risk except for those diseases I choose not to vaccinate her for. If I vaccinate her against all of them, she's not at risk. She's only at risk if I don't vaccinate. Likewise, she only puts other kids at risk for those diseases their parents choose not to vaccinate them against. So the point remains exactly the same.
On the flip side, I'm worried that the pro-mandate crowd is missing the point. What if my child just so happens to be one of the very ones that suffers a severe reaction? I don't care how rare it is. If my child suffers it, do you think telling me it's rare is going to make me feel better? How do we ethically tell X number of people that they WILL vaccinate their children when we know that a small portion of them WILL experience side effects? I don't care how small the proportion is. The pro-mandate crowd is taking the human element out of this, and that is what is really worrying me.
Of course, then we can get into slipperly slopes. If we can mandate vaccines, why not health insurance (oh wait). Why can't the government just start mandating anything they want to and claim "public safety" even if in doing so we know we are going to harm a portion of the public?
Sorry, if you are going to mandate something, you have, as far as I'm concerned, a VERY high bar to meet. And I'm far from sold that the vaccination debate comes anywhere near meeting that bar.
fdit: see Rick's post above!
On the flip side, I'm worried that the pro-mandate crowd is missing the point. What if my child just so happens to be one of the very ones that suffers a severe reaction? I don't care how rare it is. If my child suffers it, do you think telling me it's rare is going to make me feel better? How do we ethically tell X number of people that they WILL vaccinate their children when we know that a small portion of them WILL experience side effects? I don't care how small the proportion is. The pro-mandate crowd is taking the human element out of this, and that is what is really worrying me.
Of course, then we can get into slipperly slopes. If we can mandate vaccines, why not health insurance (oh wait). Why can't the government just start mandating anything they want to and claim "public safety" even if in doing so we know we are going to harm a portion of the public?
Sorry, if you are going to mandate something, you have, as far as I'm concerned, a VERY high bar to meet. And I'm far from sold that the vaccination debate comes anywhere near meeting that bar.
fdit: see Rick's post above!