T
The_Old_Maid
Guest
Apologies if this is perceived as a double post. There was a thread on the News page, and I thought this discussion needed its own thread: for definition, for education, and for sharing.
"Herd immunity" only applies to the patients who live through it.
For reasons I cannot fathom, some earthlings believe that COVID-19 is like a tub of ice cream at a birthday party: when it’s gone, it’s gone. The piglets at the front of the line get more than their “fair share.” The sad puppies at the end of the line get a dribbling spoonful, just enough to remember what ice cream tastes like.
This disease is not a limited-supply item.
This disease is like a forest fire. The more fuel [i.e., patients] you provide, the more it grows.
Scripture tells us very, very plainly the nature of fire (Proverbs 30:15-16). No forest fire ever cried, “I am full; I am weary; please stop feeding me.”
Nowadays we would cite Terminators. “It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. It doesn’t feel fear, or remorse, or pity, or fatigue. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”
Obviously more people survive this disease than survive Terminators, or even forest fires. But it is because both are world-famous that I get exercised about this offensive and inaccurate term.
I’m not trying to frighten anyone. With self-discipline, we can minimize exposure until a vaccine is found.
The only way we will have “herd immunity” is if everyone catches this disease and it weeds out countless numbers of children of God. Those who survive are immune. How nice for them.
Or when we find …
1: a treatment.
2: a cure.
3: a vaccine.
Please know that I am not aiming at anyone, my fellow posters, but at the term “herd immunity.” It is inaccurate, repulsive, and inexpressibly cruel. But I also know that many people innocently use the term without knowing what it means.
{/end G-rated rant}
…
(And yes, we blood donors try to be healthy. We have to answer about 70 questions describing our habits. Have our bodies visited Great Britain from 1983-1986? Mad cow disease. Whose genitals have visited from, well, ever? STDs. Did your mouth partake of food at an establishment that has been identified on See-List? Legionnaire’s outbreak. Et cetera. But for all our care, no blood donor can be said to be “immune” to anything if we haven’t been vaccinated against it.)
Speaking as a blood donor, I wish the term “herd immunity” would be banned from the known universe.
"Herd immunity" only applies to the patients who live through it.
For reasons I cannot fathom, some earthlings believe that COVID-19 is like a tub of ice cream at a birthday party: when it’s gone, it’s gone. The piglets at the front of the line get more than their “fair share.” The sad puppies at the end of the line get a dribbling spoonful, just enough to remember what ice cream tastes like.
This disease is not a limited-supply item.
This disease is like a forest fire. The more fuel [i.e., patients] you provide, the more it grows.
Scripture tells us very, very plainly the nature of fire (Proverbs 30:15-16). No forest fire ever cried, “I am full; I am weary; please stop feeding me.”
Nowadays we would cite Terminators. “It cannot be reasoned with. It cannot be bargained with. It doesn’t feel fear, or remorse, or pity, or fatigue. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”
Obviously more people survive this disease than survive Terminators, or even forest fires. But it is because both are world-famous that I get exercised about this offensive and inaccurate term.
I’m not trying to frighten anyone. With self-discipline, we can minimize exposure until a vaccine is found.
The only way we will have “herd immunity” is if everyone catches this disease and it weeds out countless numbers of children of God. Those who survive are immune. How nice for them.
Or when we find …
1: a treatment.
2: a cure.
3: a vaccine.
Please know that I am not aiming at anyone, my fellow posters, but at the term “herd immunity.” It is inaccurate, repulsive, and inexpressibly cruel. But I also know that many people innocently use the term without knowing what it means.
{/end G-rated rant}
…
(And yes, we blood donors try to be healthy. We have to answer about 70 questions describing our habits. Have our bodies visited Great Britain from 1983-1986? Mad cow disease. Whose genitals have visited from, well, ever? STDs. Did your mouth partake of food at an establishment that has been identified on See-List? Legionnaire’s outbreak. Et cetera. But for all our care, no blood donor can be said to be “immune” to anything if we haven’t been vaccinated against it.)
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