4 ms·
You are missing herd-immunity. A vaccine that only conveys, say, 20% protection to individuals can still convey ~100% protection to a group by tipping disease
by jjoonathan 7y ago
You are missing herd-immunity.
A vaccine that only conveys, say, 20% protection to individuals can still convey ~100% protection to a group by tipping disease story from "spreads exponentially" (average_new_infects_per_person > 1.0) to "fizzles out" (average_new_infects_per_person < 1.0). That's called herd immunity. Even a modest minority of anti-vaxxers can sabotage herd immunity, leaving the rest of us with only the vaccine's individual protection margin.
- newnewpdro 7y agoIsn't herd-immunity concerned with those who aren't immune, so in this case, who aren't vaccinated? Which just brings us back to worrying about the concerns of others. What does herd immunity have to do with the lives of the vaccinated?
- michaelmrose 7y agoNo because no vaccine protects everyone 100%. There are the young as of yet unvaccinated, the old, immunocompromised individuals and even those who are vaccinated can still actually get the virus just with far less likelihood. An increasingly large population of infected risks giving the virus a foothold first in vulnerable populations, then in everyone especially as mutations in an increasingly large reservoir provide exponentially more chances to find more effective forms that bypass existing immunity. A minority of stupid people can put everyone at risk. Ultimately diseases continue to wipe out species. There is no particular reason to suppose we are immune to calamity just because we have better tools to respond to it than dumb animals.