Humanity’s collective responsibility to combat COVID-19
Vaccines are among the safest interventions against viral disease – and they operate not by introducing synthetic drugs into our bodies, but by activating and training our own immune systems to recognize and destroy viral invaders.
If viral transmission pathways are blocked to a high enough level to reach herd immunity, the disease caused by the virus – and sometimes the virus itself – can diminish or disappear. For example, smallpox was eradicated in 1980 due to a coordinated global vaccination effort. But not before it killed 300-500 million people in the 20th century alone.
Vaccination helped eradicate smallpox worldwide.
For viral vaccines to be fully effective, it’s not enough for only a few people to be vaccinated. Those who choose not to participate in vaccination efforts don’t just place themselves at risk of disability and death. They can also serve as reservoirs for viruses to remain active and mutate to potentially become more lethal for everyone – including those already vaccinated. COVID-19 strains have already emerged that have greater transmissibility, enhanced virulence and varying ability to evade vaccine-induced immunity.
The fact that a new weapon has been developed and deployed to combat COVID-19 means that humanity’s battle against all viral diseases can and should be renewed with increasing vigor. Choosing not to use these vaccines would be a tragic negation of our collective responsibility and squanders one of humanity’s most important public health discoveries. Winning the battle against COVID-19 and other viruses – and the disease, disability and death they cause – requires all of us to play our part.
S. Jay Olshansky, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago; Leonard Hayflick, Professor of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, and Ronald Hershow, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago
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