4 ms·

It strikes me that vaccines are, in a way, a form of insurance. If I drive my car into your house, you can sue me for damages. So I pay for car insurance so I'm

It strikes me that vaccines are, in a way, a form of insurance. If I drive my car into your house, you can sue me for damages. So I pay for car insurance so I'm not bankrupted in case I make a mistake. But I'm also free to not be insured (in some places), and in those cases I get sued in case I make a mistake. As a result, some states require car insurance, so that you can't cause damage you ultimately won't be able to pay for. (I'd describe this bluntly as: "Why should society let someone be so stupid?") I think you can view vaccines in the same lens. As another commenter suggests, if I get infected with something that's vaccine-preventable because that person decided not to get vaccinated, I should be able to sue them. And similar to car insurance, some states can make vaccines a mandate ("Why should society let someone be so stupid?"). If you don't want to get the vaccine--if you want your freedom--you don't live in the society.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
The difference between getting rammed by a car vs. catching an infectious disease from someone is traceability - in the former case, one can reasonably identify who did the damage; in the latter, good luck finding that one person out of 1000+ you passed by during the day. Which is to say, it's only all the more reasons for a blanket mandate of vaccination. The society should not allow someone to be this stupid especially when it's not possible to make the stupid pay for their mistakes using regular means (like lawsuits).
- khalilravanna 7y ago
  Great point. Yeah for a lot of things it's likely impossible to know who infected you. And in those cases, my gut would tell me "blame the people who didn't get vaccinated" which brings us to the same conclusion. I mean even if we were able to identify the people responsible and make them pay damages, it seems unethical to allow parents to make decisions like these that in the end subject the innocent child to illness and even poverty (in the case where the parent is sued).

TeMPOraL 7y ago

The difference between getting rammed by a car vs. catching an infectious disease from someone is traceability - in the former case, one can reasonably identify who did the damage; in the latter, good luck finding that one person out of 1000+ you passed by during the day. Which is to say, it's only all the more reasons for a blanket mandate of vaccination. The society should not allow someone to be this stupid especially when it's not possible to make the stupid pay for their mistakes using regular means (like lawsuits).

khalilravanna 7y ago
Great point. Yeah for a lot of things it's likely impossible to know who infected you. And in those cases, my gut would tell me "blame the people who didn't get vaccinated" which brings us to the same conclusion. I mean even if we were able to identify the people responsible and make them pay damages, it seems unethical to allow parents to make decisions like these that in the end subject the innocent child to illness and even poverty (in the case where the parent is sued).