Why vaccination is similar to the road code

Of course, the opponents of vaccination are not influenced by the arguments of either the Ministry of Health, or even the WHO, nor any kind of mathematical modeling: people, mostly without proper education, can simply “not trust” evidence-based medicine, while trusting some kind of “alternative” medicine chosen on their own. However, there is an old joke: “Do you know how the alternative medicine, which effectiveness is proved, is called? Medicine“. The same thing with pharmaceuticals.

But no. Even jokes don’t seem to convey a message. The authority of the scientific community also doesn’t work. Maybe to appeal to the conscience of the unconscious ones then?

To do this, we must recall how the vaccination is different from the road code: unlike the traffic rules, there are a small number of people who are exceptions. For some people, adults, and children, vaccination is really forbidden for medical reasons. However, there is also a great “news”: if about 90% (for example, in the case of the measles) is vaccinated – then these vaccines will save also a small amount of non-vaccinated from threats: the causative agents will get in contact with people who have an immunity – and the outbreak of the disease will vanish. This is called “herd immunity”. In the case of measles, it should have existed as a result of mass vaccinations.

Oh, you also don’t believe it? Can immunity be exclusively “natural”? Maybe we should also release causative agents of eliminated by vaccine smallpox? They are still somewhere in the test tubes of the US labs – but the wicked scientists interfering with our natural immunity by holding microbes in jail! Or we can recall poliomyelitis before the vaccinations? Have you seen photos of disabled children?

Of course, not everybody who does not vaccinate children is a complete fool. There are more cynical people: they do not vaccinate their children, not because they believe in the conspiracy theory between Big Pharma and the World Health Organization. No, they perfectly understand the need for vaccinations – but not for themselves. Some of my friends racists-esoterics (sorry, but this is the fact) told me, “Yes, vaccination is needed, but it’s risky. We won’t vaccinate our children.” Another family, very educated one, explained, “We are not talking about the survival of the population, but about our own children.”

It’s all great, you want to transfer the risks from your children to mine – come on the bastard, let it be some kind of social Darwinism. They don’t think about the risk of a “side-effect” for the other children. Although, maybe they think. However, with the executive decision, they transfer all the risks to other people’s kids, hoping for herd immunity for theirs. Not because the doctor prescribed it – but “to be careful”. Is there any logic?

But there is one problem here. When “contraindications for vaccinations” are determined not by doctors, but by parents themselves, there are too many of these tricky ones and it brings us to the point where this very herd immunity does not work. The result: by slyly shifting the risks to strangers’ children – you put your own at risk first and foremost. It’s like a driver, who goes to the oncoming lane, without fastening safety-belts of the kids.

But that’s what’s making me mad: a little chance of getting sick appears again in the vaccinated children. It’s like when I’m driving, everyone is fastened, but on my lane appears a car that is moving on the oncoming lane. This is less likely, but it happens: have you ever seen similar DVR records?

In France, 11 vaccines have become mandatory, and for non-compliance with the vaccination, regime parents are threatened with prosecution. The same applies to the road code.

In the United States, there is greater freedom for the individual. Recently there has been an outbreak of measles – by coincidence, it happened precisely in the state where the vast majority of vaccination opponents lives. And so, “Parent” asks on the network “about herd immunity”, how to save the unvaccinated kid. The post goes viral. People advise, for example, to build a wall around the child – and let the vaccinated ones pay for it. Of course, this is a specific local joke about the USA and Mexicans, who, according to Trump, have to pay for the wall at the border themselves. There is a lot of black humour in the tips for “vaccination opponent paren”, but my fingers of the father won’t let me print jokes about health, especially about the lives of children. After all, passing by the Ukrainian proverb: “Are the children guilty ones, if their parents f*cking nuts?” So I’ll just leave a link.

But the outbreak of measles in the United States is caused only dozens of accidents. And we have thousands. And our parents are having a specific problem. What to do if you are scared and would like to vaccinate your kid, but you already have all the necessary certificates? Oops!

In Ukraine, in particular, we like to talk about the shortcomings of our medicine. Like “unprofessional” doctors justify independent diagnosis and refusal of vaccinations? This is the same thing if “bad” cops justify the violation of the road code. By the way, we still have “poor quality” vaccines! Probably: that’s why, because of the bad road, we go to the opposing lane, to get the front collision with someone.

I can still understand the simpletons and poor people who live for minimum wage. But often such arguments are put forward by the middle, or God forbid, the “creative” class of large cities. Hm! You don’t trust the doctor – change him, if you’re very curious and have money – go to an expensive private clinic. If you’re suspicious of a “bad Indian” vaccine – buy “good Belgian” one. You won’t save on the lives of your children if you have money, don’t you?

But no. If we have poor quality or corrupt medicine – we will better spend money not on a bad-quality vaccine, but we will give a bribe and buy a certificate to get to the kindergarten and school. It’s as if we had bad road police – we had to bribe them. L: “Logic”.

So in Ukraine, where the MOH was about to officially announce an epidemic, people have a specific problem that is not present in the United States: what if there are vaccine certificates, but they are bought? Oops!

Don’t worry! It seems that the MOH knows its people. Our ministry has the answer to the question about the “bought” certificates: five minutes of shame (however, it would be without the shame if the doctor had been an accomplice to your corrupt act, because then it’s easier to look in the doctor’s eyes) and your children will be indeed vaccinated, and nothing will happen to you for this.

I was asked to write this column as “the father of two children” – but of course, this is not an argument, and now I’ll tell you why. I had to get up and work at four o’clock in the morning while the kids were sleeping (therefore, I apologize for my bumpy style): the school announced quarantine because of the measles, and the elder child will be at home today, and it has a slight effect on work (the smallest of all the problems). After two incidents only during junior school and only in the last three days – even parents of vaccinated kids were scared, therefore, it was senseless to continue the educational process.

But here is the most interesting thing. At the time when the quarantine was announced in the school Viber chat (a wonderful place created “to make everyone’s stupidity visible”), appears “Illia, the father of THREE children” (thus, more credible than me). He starts to send excerpts from the books against vaccinations about “herd immunity” (albeit, there was nothing about smallpox).

I cry to my wife, “Don’t speak! We have to live with him for twelve more years!” But I’m dying to ask him in public:

“Wait, how did your children appear at school, where they don’t take kids without vaccination certificate?”

Oops!

Artem Chapeye