![]() Therefore these individuals apparently decided that they would rather take their chances with the disease itself. Here again the risks associated with the vaccine are extremely small, but for some people, still real. Cases of anaphylactic shock or blood clots have also happened, but they have been extremely rare, and safeguards on how to provide immediate care are in place for any such eventuality. Those who reject the COVID vaccine also note that many receiving the vaccine have had an adverse reaction, including flu-like symptoms that are short-lived but often quite unpleasant. And they received authorization only after conclusive evidence showing they were indeed safe. In fact, while the vaccines were given emergency authorization to expedite their availability to the general public, they are not experimental but rather the result of years of already existing research on mRNA vaccines and coronaviruses – the family of viruses including SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. They say that COVID vaccines are experimental, their long-term effects are unknown and that emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration was rushed. Many individuals are rejecting the COVID-19 vaccine for similar reasons – that is, reasons grounded in self-interest. In fact, in 2019 the United States reported its highest number of cases of measles in 25 years. Because so many parents refuse vaccination for their children, outbreaks of measles have taken place throughout the U.S. Indeed, the preponderance of evidence shows that the risk of harm or death to the unvaccinated child from infections such as MMR is far greater than any associated with receiving the vaccine.īut more importantly, this parent’s decision to reject the vaccine affected more than just her child. And while adverse and even serious reactions have been known to occur, such a risk is infinitesimally small. Many vaccines do contain live agents, though they are in a weakened or attenuated state. This claim has been shown, repeatedly and conclusively, to be without merit. ![]() This woman’s objection was driven by her suspicion that the MMR vaccine, for measles, mumps and rubella, caused autism. For these reasons, she claimed, she had every right to decide that her child would not receive the vaccine. I recall one participant summarizing her objection to vaccines in the following way: She said that the government demanded that she allow a live biological agent to be injected into her child’s body even though it could not guarantee her child’s safety. Not least, as a political theorist who also studies social ethics, it reminds me that arguments grounded in self-interest can often be correct – but still deeply inadequate. It took place many years before the current coronavirus pandemic, but many things that happened at that conference remind me of our circumstances today. The debate centered on what governments can and cannot demand from citizens, and what behaviors one can rightly expect from others. ![]() Decades ago I helped organize a conference that brought together vaccine skeptics and public health officials. ![]()
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