Posted: May 27, 2013 5:23 pm
Pebble wrote:Not sure I can follow the last sentence. Parasitic how?
Well, quite mildly parasitic.
From the perspective of the average person, the unvaccinated-by choice person basing their decision on a cost-benefit analysis in a generally vaccinated population where infection is suppressed gains meaningful (and often quite valuable) protection as a result of them being in the population they are in, while their choice is helping to increase the risks to everyone (including people who cannot be vaccinated, and people who are vaccinated but remain vulnerable).
That would seem somewhat parasitic - gaining a benefit by a choice while imposing a cost on others.
It is a bit muddied in that as long as enough people are vaccinated, the cost might not materialise, but equally it would be hard to say the behaviour was 'cost-free' right up to the point where too many people indulged in it and the consequences appeared, since that would be close to saying that in general, taking a risk with other people's welfare was fine except in the cases where something actually went wrong.