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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (36608)	11/10/2001 10:29:22 PM
From: E	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 82486

I know what you mean, but the question isn't one of official war status or lack of it, it's about science, epidemiology and how epidemics work, etc. I think there are ratios of non-immune to immune that 'break the back' of an epidemic. Obviously if 300 people will die, statisticians are working with scientists to figure out how many will die, assuming an epidemic, at various percentages of immunized citizens. If only a small number of people aren't immunized, they get protection by the immunized status of the others. There's a point at which, w/o general immunization, hundreds, or thousands, or hundreds of thousands, would be infected. I read something about this. Maybe in Guns, Germs and Steel. By Jared Diamond. I shouldn't be discussing it because it's all vague in my mind, but I do know that it isn't only an individual decision in terms of whom not having immunity affects. Now maybe there's a principle that says okay, you have a right to take your chances and increase the chances of others who also exercised that right. But it just occurred to me that a few thousand non-immune Americans could spread smallpox to places in the world in which the citizenry isn't so lucky as to have access to universal immunization. If it's offered, I'll be on line with my sleeve rolled up, and would sure hope those who refuse it agree not to exercise their right to travel to uninfected areas. In other words, I think this is about science. About how epidemics work. And not about politics except insofar as it will be governmental entities assessing the probabilities that we will be attacked by smallpox. But heck, I could be wrong. I know nothing.