Comments on: In Praise of Free Riding? http://www.juliansanchez.com/2009/06/16/in-praise-of-free-riding/ Just another geek in the geek kingdom Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:38:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 By: fluffy http://www.juliansanchez.com/2009/06/16/in-praise-of-free-riding/comment-page-1/#comment-9262 fluffy Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:08:55 +0000 http://www.juliansanchez.com/?p=3283#comment-9262 "Of course, we don’t know with any certainty whether vaccinations contribute to the emergence of autism" Yes, we do. Every single study has shown that there is <em>absolutely no link whatsoever</em> between vaccinations and autism. “Of course, we don’t know with any certainty whether vaccinations contribute to the emergence of autism”

Yes, we do. Every single study has shown that there is absolutely no link whatsoever between vaccinations and autism.

]]> By: RickRussellTX http://www.juliansanchez.com/2009/06/16/in-praise-of-free-riding/comment-page-1/#comment-8049 RickRussellTX Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:30:16 +0000 http://www.juliansanchez.com/?p=3283#comment-8049 I'll give you a frustratingly personal example: child vaccinations. I have one child who is diagnosed with autism, and a severe case. Another was just born, and has a huge load of vaccinations in front of him. Of course, we don't know with any certainty whether vaccinations contribute to the emergence of autism, and much has been said about that subject that needn't be repeated here. Maybe it does in some children, maybe it's linked to relatively rare (but currently unknown) genetic factors, etc. Let's simply call it an unquantified risk. We all understand that universal vaccination is, overwhelmingly, the best solution for public health. Yes, some children suffer side effects, and who knows if some develop permanent problems. But on balance, we all agree that it's best to eliminate the carriers of severe illness, and vaccinations make that possible. Smallpox was defeated this way. But as a *parent*, maximizing the quality of public health is not my job. Maximizing the quality of my own child's health is my job. And since the environmental factors that may contribute to the emergence of autism are quite speculative at this point, I have to decide whether to let my child "free ride" (live vaccine-free in a vaccinated nation where he is not likely to contract these diseases anyway) or "pay" (expose him to unspecified risks for public good, and the near-guarantee that he will not contract these diseases). The analogy is precise, I think. If most of us free ride, wait for the other guys to get vaccinated, and end up with a large vaccinated population, then we could easily see massive re-emergence of deadly communicable diseases with results far worse than the side effects of any vaccines. If most of us get vaccinated, and vaccines do contribute to autism, then we risk creating a generation of disabled people for the gift of disease-resistance for the majority. Some claim numbers as high as 1 in 150 will suffer disorders on the autism spectrum, although that's very much in dispute, and doesn't really reflect the range of disabilities from minor to severe. But the societal cost as these disabled children grow up will be high, whatever the cause of their disorders. I’ll give you a frustratingly personal example: child vaccinations. I have one child who is diagnosed with autism, and a severe case. Another was just born, and has a huge load of vaccinations in front of him.

Of course, we don’t know with any certainty whether vaccinations contribute to the emergence of autism, and much has been said about that subject that needn’t be repeated here. Maybe it does in some children, maybe it’s linked to relatively rare (but currently unknown) genetic factors, etc. Let’s simply call it an unquantified risk.

We all understand that universal vaccination is, overwhelmingly, the best solution for public health. Yes, some children suffer side effects, and who knows if some develop permanent problems. But on balance, we all agree that it’s best to eliminate the carriers of severe illness, and vaccinations make that possible. Smallpox was defeated this way.

But as a *parent*, maximizing the quality of public health is not my job. Maximizing the quality of my own child’s health is my job. And since the environmental factors that may contribute to the emergence of autism are quite speculative at this point, I have to decide whether to let my child “free ride” (live vaccine-free in a vaccinated nation where he is not likely to contract these diseases anyway) or “pay” (expose him to unspecified risks for public good, and the near-guarantee that he will not contract these diseases).

The analogy is precise, I think. If most of us free ride, wait for the other guys to get vaccinated, and end up with a large vaccinated population, then we could easily see massive re-emergence of deadly communicable diseases with results far worse than the side effects of any vaccines.

If most of us get vaccinated, and vaccines do contribute to autism, then we risk creating a generation of disabled people for the gift of disease-resistance for the majority. Some claim numbers as high as 1 in 150 will suffer disorders on the autism spectrum, although that’s very much in dispute, and doesn’t really reflect the range of disabilities from minor to severe. But the societal cost as these disabled children grow up will be high, whatever the cause of their disorders.

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