A Community of Health
I support vaccines, perhaps to a fault. Entering the medical field, I sing the praises of health care and firmly believe that the benefits outweigh the risks. A brief exposure to an inactive or attenuated pathogen seems far preferable to the possibility of a bout of polio and the accompanying hospitalization. For myself and for the people around me, it has always seemed the right choice. In my mind, immunization has never been a question, but rather a need. For your own personal health, it looks to be one of the best choices you can make, even given the slight inherent risk that comes with plunging a needle full of disease causing organisms into your tissues.
While I was somewhat familiar with the idea of “herd immunity”—this concept that vaccinating the masses protects the few who have never been inoculated—I had given it little thought before opening up Biss’s book On Immunity. Of all the content in this book, it was the few paragraphs between pages 23 and 28 that stood out to me most. The idea that vaccination, though a deeply personal choice, is just a much or more so a protection of others as it is of the self has stuck with me as I read. What a uniquely noble way to view vaccination: to sacrifice the integrity of your own body (albeit temporarily) for the good of other, less privileged groups. “There is some truth, now, to the idea that public health is not strictly for people like me, but it is through us, literally through our bodies, that certain public health measures are enacted.” (Biss, 28) And how high, then, are the stakes when immunization is not the choice made.This view of vaccination, that it affects a community rather than an individual, introduces a new element to the choice. Suddenly, parents are not just looking at the health of their own children, but are prompted to look at the health of those around them: the underprivileged and undervaccinated. In not choosing to inoculate, the ramifications can be far reaching, introducing disease to entire communities or subsets of the population that lack the resources to respond to major illness. It makes the decision not to vaccinate seem a bit less understandable. Biss, E. (2015). On immunity: an inoculation. Minneapolis, MN: Greywolf.
What an interesting view you have, that vaccination is a "noble" choice. I've never quite thought of it in that way before, but it makes a lot of sense. I have always thought of "anti-vaxxer" parents as unbelievably selfish to put at risk the lives of not only their own children but also vulnerable infants and those with immune conditions. It makes sense, then, that those who DO vaccinate their kids are being selfless and noble in their actions.
ReplyDeleteI think your view is very interesting but not the reason that most people vaccinate their children. I believe most people vaccinate their children out of selfish desires. They simply want to protect their own form the multitude of diseases out there.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely and so do governments. Since the act of vaccination has external benefits, many governments choose to subsidize the price and pay directly to make up for the risk of individual choice.
ReplyDeleteP/S: Love the choice of font size. Really Ego-centric!
Vaccination as a necessity is unfortunately inherently intertwined with aspects of privilege within society. The way I’ve come to see vaccination is that it’s a social obligation for those of us who can so we can better protect those who can’t. As the pure self interest aspect has faded along with many childhood diseases, as a community we need to present a new rationale for why we need to subject ourselves, and especially those towards the top, to something rather unpleasant. Public health really is a public concern and we owe it to each other to at least be conscious of that. I really enjoyed seeing how you came to view the issue here.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post! Like you, before reading "On Immunity" I had no idea the effect of some people not being vaccinated had on a whole community. When you look at it this way, it seems like such a selfish and dangerous choice to not get vaccinated. Not only are you endangering your own life, but those around you as well. I really like your take on this issue, and would like to see more people informed about herd immunity and the effects their choices can have on others around them.
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