| > Has anything else we've ever done in all of history come close to the positive humanitarian impact that the development of vaccines has? Aside, perhaps, from the development of antibiotics or sanitation or irrigation? > Being able to vaccinate ourselves has to be one of the major legs up we've developed as a species in general. And people are choosing to discard it. I find it deeply frustrating. I think along similar lines and I share your frustration. Other creatures advantage themselves through brute strength, or flight, or some other physical characteristics. But Man is special: Man's advantage is his brain. Our unique ability to think; to reason; to read, write, and remember; to explore the rules of the universe gives us the prerogative to understand and alter our environment. All of those achievements you mention are expressions of Man's ability to apply his intellect to alter his condition in his environment. Here, with these vaccines, we have a nearly pure example of the fundamental advantage we humans have against a new unthinking, uncaring, endemic adversary of all humanity. We have done the hard work. We have used our advantage, endowed by our Creator, to build the weapons that will defeat this new enemy. Now our biggest obstacle to final victory is not the virus itself--it's other humans. It's deeply, deeply frustrating. |