4 ms·

I don't think "we've always mandated vaccines" is a good argument. Applying the label of "vaccine" to something does not guarantee anything. Especially when the

I don't think "we've always mandated vaccines" is a good argument. Applying the label of "vaccine" to something does not guarantee anything. Especially when the definition was changed in the past year.

margalabargala 5y ago
> I don't think "we've always mandated vaccines" is a good argument. Applying the label of "vaccine" to something does not guarantee anything. That's a fair point, I agree. > Especially when the definition was changed in the past year. Could you elaborate on this part? I went ahead and checked the dictionary definition: > A substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease. Which tracks with what I remember from my molecular bio degree ten years ago.
- grillvogel 5y ago
  the CDC recently changed their definition of vaccine from (paraphrasing) "something that provides immunity to disease" to "something that provides protection from a disease" https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article254111268.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article25411126...
- rajin444 5y ago
  https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=50886 https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=50886 It wasn’t just here - the CDC and potentially others (I haven’t looked that hard) changed their definitions as well. I’ve got no issue with making terms more correct, but I think one could make the argument that the covid vaccine is more similar to a flu shot than the polio vaccine w.r.t public perception.
  - margalabargala 5y ago
    Hmm, interesting. I don't object to the new definition- the old one explicitly calling out cowpox feels outdated as our medical technology has marched on. You make a very good point though, depending on what definition of "vaccine" one used prior to 2020 the mRNA vaccines might not fall under it. And changing the meaning of the word doesn't magically change the properties of the things it refers to.

margalabargala 5y ago

> I don't think "we've always mandated vaccines" is a good argument. Applying the label of "vaccine" to something does not guarantee anything. That's a fair point, I agree. > Especially when the definition was changed in the past year. Could you elaborate on this part? I went ahead and checked the dictionary definition: > A substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease. Which tracks with what I remember from my molecular bio degree ten years ago.

grillvogel 5y ago
the CDC recently changed their definition of vaccine from (paraphrasing) "something that provides immunity to disease" to "something that provides protection from a disease" https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article254111268.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article25411126...
rajin444 5y ago
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=50886 https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=50886 It wasn’t just here - the CDC and potentially others (I haven’t looked that hard) changed their definitions as well. I’ve got no issue with making terms more correct, but I think one could make the argument that the covid vaccine is more similar to a flu shot than the polio vaccine w.r.t public perception.
- margalabargala 5y ago
  Hmm, interesting. I don't object to the new definition- the old one explicitly calling out cowpox feels outdated as our medical technology has marched on. You make a very good point though, depending on what definition of "vaccine" one used prior to 2020 the mRNA vaccines might not fall under it. And changing the meaning of the word doesn't magically change the properties of the things it refers to.