Polio Eradication Program Faces Hard Choices as Endgame Strategy Falters (sciencemag.org) 119
The "endgame" in the decadeslong campaign to eradicate polio suffered major setbacks in 2019. From a report: While the effort lost ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which recorded 116 cases of wild polio -- four times the number in 2018 -- an especially alarming situation developed in Africa. In 12 countries, 196 children were paralyzed not by the wild virus, but by a strain derived from a live vaccine that has regained its virulence and ability to spread. Fighting these flare-ups will mean difficult decisions in the coming year. The culprit in Africa is vaccine-derived polio virus type 2, and the fear is that it will jump continents and reseed outbreaks across the globe. A brand new vaccine is now being rushed through development to quash type 2 outbreaks. Mass production has already begun, even though the vaccine is still in clinical trials; it could be rolled out for emergency use as early as mid-2020. At the same time, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is debating whether to combat the resurgent virus by re-enlisting a triple-whammy vaccine pulled from global use in 2016. That would be a controversial move, setting back the initiative several years, as well as a potential public relations disaster -- an admission that the carefully crafted endgame strategy has failed. "All options are on the table," says viro-logist Mark Pallansch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the five partner organizations in GPEI. "We are clearly in the most serious situation we have been in with the program," adds Roland Sutter, who recently stepped down as the director of polio research at the World Health Organization (WHO). The heart of the problem is the live oral polio vaccine (OPV), the workhorse of the eradication program -- the only polio vaccine powerful enough to stop viral circulation. Given as two drops into a child's mouth, OPV for decades contained a mix of three weakened polio viruses, one for each of the three wild serotypes that have long plagued humanity. All three serotypes in the vaccine have the potential to revert to more dangerous versions; that's why the endgame strategy calls for deploying OPV in massive campaigns to eradicate the wild virus, then ending its use entirely.
This is the problem with live vaccines. (Score:5, Interesting)
I keep thinking that on something like this, we need to use dead virus/particles once the area is fairly cleaned up. The dead virus/particles is not as effective, and may actually allow the virus back. However, if one can be designed that is DECENT, it should do the work for most places and then for any place that has the live virus coming back, then re-do the live virus in a larger area of where it was.
Re:This is the problem with live vaccines. (Score:5, Informative)
In the US and as far as I know all western countries in which polio has been eradicated, only the IPV vaccine is used to prevent polio. IPV is not a live vaccine. In the US its been this way since I was in med school - so at leave over 20 years but probably longer. IPV is quite effective on the individual level if provided as recommended.
The only places where the live polio vaccine is used is in poorer counties or countries with active disease. Its more effective from a population standpoint because one person can be vaccinate but the inoculated live virus will inevitably be passed to others which is typically a good thing. Many more people end up effectively vaccinated. Obliviously, its not a perfect strategy. The OPV vaccine is also much cheaper to provide.
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They use live vaccines because it can be used orally.
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Note he's talking about SMALLPOX (Score:2)
Back in the 60s, we were ALL being inoculated with live attenuated small pox
As I understand it:
- Smallpox innoculation (artificial infection with full pathogenicity smallpox - in this case by the skin route) was the first smallpox live-virus immunization. It was common in some Muslim countries and used to a limited extent in England, brought home by a diplomat's wife. Infection via a skin lesion (rather than inhalation) produced a full-blown infection, fully contagious, but usually non-fatal case
So frustrating ... (Score:5, Informative)
But back in India, every school I went to had a couple of victims in each grade level. Some with one leg and others with both legs, some could walk and others could not. I was lucky, just one leg and I can walk.
First time we got close to finishing it off, CIA used polio vaccine workers to hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Backlash against the vaccine workers in Pakistan later made it impossible to finish polio off its last strong hold in one Karachi slum. Then the Haj pilgrimage took it out of Pakistan and spread it to two other places, Nigeria and Indonesia.
Now, this. In the larger context, polio is a lot more dangerous than Osama. I wish CIA had not used UN health workers as cover for its underground activities...
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I wish Pakistan hadn't aided and hidden Osama.
Re:So frustrating ... (Score:4, Interesting)
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Bin Laden was Saudi. The US helped his family extensively, at least indirectly. He was an idiot for biting the hand that fed him.
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Thanks for making my point, I guess? Bin Laden was still an idiot. And a very determined one.
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Capturing Constantinople in 1400s is their high water mark in Westward expansion. Turks came up to Hungary later but never could hold the territories. Capturing Delhi in 1500 was the high water mark in Eastward expansion. The Mogul Empire started declining after 1575. They leap frogged by sea to Indonesia and Burma. But their hold on those populations was not very high.
The Islamic expan
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The expansion of Islam in Europe and America and Africa all happened due to normal above average population growth.
In normal course of events they would have become another religion like Hinduism or Buddhism. All human societies fragment, dont consolidate naturally. So they would have split in many pieces all at various levels of peace and tolerance. But the fu
Re:So frustrating ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't be obtuse. The fake CIA program validated every paranoid fear of the "real" purpose of NGO vaccine programs. You're asking people to trust the word of a proven liar, over a lie that didn't have to be told.
Re:So frustrating ... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Hope you did fine.
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Same here. I got furious with my government when I learned of that. Don't get me wrong; I hated OBL, but I'd much rather live in a world without polio than a world without him. And there's no excuse for putting aid workers in danger.
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"I wish CIA had not used UN health workers as cover for its underground activities."
Yeah, well I wish the PLO wasn't using ambulances today to shuttle weapons. Shrug. The world's a shitty place full of assholes.
So if I understand the situation (Score:2)
People were were vaccinated, and who have no symptoms nor health problems, can transmit a form of the virus that came from their vaccination, to people with weakened immune systems who were not vaccinated?
Re: So if I understand the situation (Score:2)
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The vaccinated person shits out the modified virus, then it cycles through the population a couple of times due to bad sanitation and incomplete vaccination. While it's doing that it sometimes mutates back into a paralysis causing strain.
Re:So if I understand the situation (Score:4, Informative)
When the oral polio virus (OPV) vaccine is used this is true. The OPV vaccine isn't used in most countries. Its use it typically limited to poorer areas or areas with outbreaks. Its cheap to provide (can be given orally). Because the attenuated virus infects many people, one vaccine may vaccinate a large group of people.
In western countries its pretty much never used as far as I know. In the US , for example, we only use the IPV vaccine for polio. It is not live.
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It was used in the USA from 1963 to 2000 so it's the one I had as child. Wonder if my shed viruses killed any poor SOBs
Vaccinations must remain choice. (Score:1, Interesting)
This is only one of the reasons for it.
I hate the pro vs anti-vax debate. It is filled with toxic morons on both sides. While I definitely advocate for vaccination, I will never advocate for it be be mandatory because no matter how much you live in fear you just simply do not have the right to force someone to roll the dice on risks like this. You cannot claim it for your protection, national security, or for any decent reason. You can only do it for selfish reasons.
Vaccines have never been safe, no dru
Re: Vaccinations must remain choice. (Score:4, Insightful)
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"These morons live in the same society with the rest of us"
Yes, I have heard this rant before as well, right before people were abused and or oppressed.
This is currently what China is saying to all the "Uyghurs"... "Welcome to Society".
And for the record, you are just as ignorant and fearful as those you are hate on. Ignorance and Fear is the currently of all domination of others. When you move to force someone by law to do something then you are the same as those you hate.
Or in short... you cannot say I
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At increased risk, you're at risk regardless.
If your kids are not promiscuous the risk of genital HPV infection could be less than the risk of adverse vaccine effects. Should they be forced to be vaccinated to protect your little sluts? Maybe, maybe not.
In a liberal democracy there's always going to be a tendency to err more on the side of freedom and personal choice than community. You could try China instead.
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"At increased risk, you're at risk regardless."
I don't think "Way Smarter Than You" has the intellectual capacity to understand something like this. They have allowed their irrational fears to make them "Risk Adverse" he is an example of the "Ellsberg paradox".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: Vaccinations must remain choice. (Score:2)
How much of that did you already know? None of it. And you call me ignorant,
in fact, your virgin daughter can get hpv and the various cancers and such that can follow simply by having sex with her non vir
Re: Vaccinations must remain choice. (Score:5, Insightful)
Should smallpox still be a thing because freedum and "choice"? Sounds more like you're being a dipshit for the sake of dipshittery.
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They aren't the unvaccinated population which is stopping the eradication of measles/mumps, the third world is.
If the whole world had first world levels of vaccination they would be gone already. Even if the whole first world was vaccinated, vaccine failure would still make you risk infection from the third world.
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Smallpox IS a thing. There's no "should" about it.
People get sick. People die. This is normal. You can't stop it. It is not worth forcing someone to subject their bodies to government control to stop one, two, or even one million diseases. There will be millions more diseases after that. You cannot fully eradicate disease unless you glass the whole planet.
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Because some ignorant religious butters and equally ignorant Hollywood morons are fearful
No, you fucking moron. Because someone doesn't want to do something to their body, and you don't get to fucking make them because you live in fear of how weak and unfit you are.
Fuck you if you think you can force them via the government.
The government forcing them is the same government that has experimented on its own citizens without their consent or knowledge. It continues to do so.
The government forcing them is the same government that will suffer no repercussions for harming or killing its own citize
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This post was very reasonable.
Unfortunately I am afraid that for most of the population what you wrote will be dismissed as a stupid, crazed, irresponsible purveyor of fake science anti-Vaxxer whose kids should not be allowed to go to school and you should be personally liable for any disease repercussions in anyone you or your kids ever contacted. As far as they are concerned measles is death and death is measles and they will treat you the same as if you are trying to shoot up an elementary school with
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"This post was very reasonable." -- thank you!
Yea, I am well aware of the politicization of vaccinations and you are right that objectivity is no longer allowed.
"They have been conditioned to be terrified for their kids"
This is so on point. All the mandatory vaxxers are working on the same fear that the anti vaxxers are working on.
"I have read of doctors trying to say what the post I am responding to said and they have nearly had their careers ruined."
This is one of the many benefits of government or grou
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If a person gets a disease, should YOU spend resources to help them or just let them reap the results?
Are YOU going to pony up YOUR resources to help some rando regardless of how or why they need help?
If yes, commit to a dollar amount.
If no, then fuck you for trying to socialize an expense you wouldn't personally pony up.
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Serious irony, making this 'my uneducated opinion is equal to the knowledge of actual experts' as we celebrate Asimov's centennial. Hyperbole like calling the consensus views of thousands of immunologists 'downright evil'? 'Not efforts to silence or belittle antivax'? Y'all don't get to bring your half-baked political philosophies into a realm of science and ascribe what we do to motives you're just pulling out of your ass. Step off.
Scientists Are Not Perfect (Score:2)
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You can never say that loss of life or quality of life is reasonable on the behalf of others, only for yourself can say this.
The overall results are obviously much better than going without vaccinations, but until we reach a 100% effectiveness rate with zero negative side-effects we can never allow ourselves to call it reasonable. For now, this is the best that we can do, but you might be mistaken that improvements will be made. Money is a major factor in things like this. And if the numbers are really r
Re: Scientists Are Not Perfect (Score:4, Insightful)
By that standard, no one can have any medical services, drugs, surgery, or even a broken limb set. Hey, let's extend this logic to other things! Yay!
People die driving, swimming, exercising at the gym, having sex, and walking down the street. For everyone's safety let's ban all those things because we're not 100% safe doing them. Oh and paying my taxes makes me sick, too. So I shouldn't have to do that, either! Yaaay for shitty anti-vaxxer logic!
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Failure thanks to the US? (Score:2)
Is the failure to eradicate polio thanks to the United States using a bogus polio vaccination scheme to hunt for Bin Laden?
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What's the problem with scheduling posts to spread out throughout the day? Every site does it, it's common sense.
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This was called "SlashTracking" referring to Clear Channel's voice-tracking system. Basically, a host/editor can make a five hour show out of only one hour or less of work by scripting events. MsMash seems to have broken the randomness of Slashdot by posting on the hour, not at odd times like it used to be. Slashdot once moved a new story every time the previous one reached 100 comments.
I notice there's some times we go hours without a new story here... it's clear we need a new editor for Midnight-5am ET.
Re: "ending its use entirely" (Score:2)
Re: "Scientific Method" IS HORSESHIT (Score:2)
Re: Complex Phenomena don't produce evidence (Score:2)
Re: Complex Phenomena don't produce evidence (Score:1)
You're aware that the black swan book is popsci BS right?
Re: "Scientific Method" IS HORSESHIT (Score:1)
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Re: "Scientific Method" IS HORSESHIT (Score:1)
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Did anyone point out to him that the 'Black Swan' theory he's screaming about was defined by a researcher who proposed a scientific definition? Taleb, N. N.; Douady, R. (2013). "Mathematical definition, mapping, and detection of (an
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I, and I assume many other people, would gladly hear what better alternative you have.
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Keep in mind that the utter horseshit method allows people, even those like you, to voice their opinion on the internet, where people can read it all around the planet, mere milliseconds after you pressed a button or issue another local command.
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This idea that we're gonna rid the world of all viruses is pure rank lunatic insanity.
I don't see where anyone claimed that. They did believe that they'd potentially rid the world of polio though.
Homo sapiens is becoming one vast defenseless monoculture just ripe for the taking by an opportunistic disease vector.
This is only true in places that place legal or cultural limits on who people may choose to have children with.
Someone help me out here as I don't recall the whole story. Wasn't this fascination of the Chinese with gene edited babies based on some fear that there is no known treatment or immunity from HIV/AIDS among the Chinese? People of European ancestry have been found to have immunity, and dr
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Unless a specific population is very isolated in very static environments for multiple generations, there is no such thing as a "human monoculture". Especially when epigenetics is taken into account. Evolution to the environment is a continual, unavoidable, unstoppable process for anything that uses DNA to reproduce.
Forgive my asshole-ish pedantry. Evolution is seeing a species adapt to stresses in the environment. In a static environment a species does in fact cease to evolve. There's instead "convolution" that takes place, or at least that's the word I've seen used to describe this process. The species is then allowed to have traits that would be detrimental in the presence of some stresses to spread. New mutations that might be beneficial in the presence of some stressor would also spread. The genetic makeup o
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With a bit of luck we'll create AI in time to replace us, problem solved.
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Your statement contradicts itself.
If we're saving children that "should have died", then we're getting the exact opposite of monoculture. All the "strains" of humanity are being given better chances of surviving and procreating. We're more-diverse than before, since we're retaining "strains" of humanity that are/were vulnerable to certain diseases.
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Hey retard, listen up.
Abstinence works. Fact is, if one is responsible, you've got almost no chance of getting an STD.
HPV is a joke - SOME strains of it have been SORT OF linked to SOME cancers in women (and men).
So they made a vaccine that MAY prevent SOME of those strains.
Then they tested it for and marketed it to young girls. They didn't bother testing it for or marketing it to young men because you can't make a pink ribbon feel good campaign for ass cancer, and no one cares about protecting young men.
Re:"ending its use entirely" (Score:5, Informative)
If my son or daughter leads a disciplined and clean life, why should he or she be forced to take an HPV inoculation?
Nobody should be forced to take any inoculation. It's still a good idea to get it because a quick web search tells me that nearly everyone can expect to be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.
These have been proven to kill a significant portion of persons taking them.
Citation needed. A web search on this only comes up with articles telling me this is a hoax.
If you want to talk risks then consider the risk of your son getting penile cancer, which would mean having his penis amputated and his testicles irradiated. If your daughter were to get cervical cancer then this could mean a hysterectomy and radiation treatment, causing her to be barren and bald. Both sexes have the risk of anal cancer, which could leave them incontinent, infertile, or both.
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Paragraphs are your friend, don't be afraid to use them.
Re: Fluoride Alert (Score:1)
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Slashdot paragraphing is broken on certain common browsers and devices. I use safari on iPad. Fully updated. I can't do line breaks / paragraphs here. I can on every other site with no special effort. Don't blame the users for the site being broken.
You have to use <p> for a page brake here. Unless your browser is translating the tags for you in which case, WTF.
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Slashdot paragraphing is broken on certain common browsers and devices. I use safari on iPad. Fully updated. I can't do line breaks / paragraphs here. I can on every other site with no special effort. Don't blame the users for the site being broken.
You have to use <p> for a page brake here. Unless your browser is translating the tags for you in which case, WTF.
Most ipad users are HTML challenged. They have to use the extended character set to get at simple cap access keyboard functions like .> and , li or
p or em not to mention not knowing which ones close and which
do not or which are inline
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A Nazi conspiracy, actually. Funny how water fluoride levels were only a problem after Operation Paperclilp.
Re: Fluoride Alert (Score:1)
ok trying p tags. Btw, I didn't have to do html tags until a few months ago when paragraphing without tags
suddenly
stopped
working
thanks for the tip!
Re: Fluoride Alert (Score:1)
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Re: Fluoride Alert (Score:1)
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Re: Fluoride Alert (Score:1)
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Yeah, but who drinks water straight from a tap these days?
People that I know drink bottled water or filtered water.
Fluoride is in the toothpaste anyway.
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I do, but we don't have water fluoridation in Germany, table salt and toothpaste are used instead.
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Filtering water does not remove fluoride.
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With that said, there is some work coming this way that I was part of in the 60s. Back then, it was common for the DoD to actually allow medical trials on troops and their families. My twin brother and I were part of an interesting study dealing with teeth ( twins only ). Not sure who was control vs not (they will not tell you), however, I do know that his mouth was loaded with silver
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In UK you get dental care but it doesn't pay for cosmetic dentistry so people just stick with natural looking teeth.
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Health insurance in the US doesn't cover cosmetic dentistry, either. Teeth bleaching is a cultural phenomenon, nothing more.
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Please don't confuse the United Kingdom and Europe. Not only do they go to great lengths to try and not be European, they suck at dental hygiene too.
Re: We need more than vaccines (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: We need more than vaccines (Score:5, Insightful)
Controlling borders is not a fantasy. Borders have been controlled quite successfully for centuries of recorded history by multiple nations. Naturally shooting a crosser on sight would provide a deterrence but it would not be 100% effective and would also be evil and inhumane.
Also, do you really think telling people that they are "stupid uncivic mother fucking dumb ass anti-science pro-disease trash" is going to convince them of their beliefs? I would say it does not sound like you have read the bible... or should I say... you may have read it as in your eyes have glossed over the pages, but you didn't understand anything in it.
And... if you really think border control is impossible... you might have trouble sneaking into heaven yourself in the afterlife... but perhaps "we all will be watching your career with great interest" by that time eh?
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You obviously missed my point. I am a Christian, and have read the Bible extensively and have never read any admonitions against vaccinations in the Bible, however, I am obviously not the only person with an interpretation either. That means that if I am allowed to force my interpretations or lack of them onto others then I am the save as everyone else that has oppressed others throughout history over their BS beliefs.
"I'm an atheist so I don't have the concept of not going to heaven or hell."
A statement
Re: We need more than vaccines (Score:1)
As far as inflicting things on other people, both Jews and Muslims have food eating practices that are primarily about healthy eating. The kosher and halal laws/rules are mostly not religious per se bit about avoiding things that will get you sick.
For example, catfish is not kosher because it's a bottom feeder. Bottom feeder eat
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That's a wonderful theory, about controlling borders and everyone proving they're healthy and all that. It's also a fantasy. Even if we actually tried to control our border and we're super aggressive about it (like, say, shooting all crossers on site), some would still get through.
I'm not living in the fantasy that we could stop everyone from crossing the border illegally. I'm merely concerned about the past and current volume of people crossing, and we should take reasonable precautions to prevent and discourage such crossings.
One means to discourage illegal crossing is barring anyone found crossing illegally from claiming refugee status. Anyone that wants asylum will have to claim this at a port of entry. A port of entry doesn't mean a border crossing or seaport, it can also be
Re: We need more than vaccines (Score:1)
As for borders, if we're talking disease it only takes one to infect everyone else and you'll never stop literally everyone. But if all you want is to reduce immigration, then punishing the crossers won't really help. If you enforce the laws we already have, the IRS reports multi-use o and fake SSN to ICE, and employers go to jail for knowingly hiring illegals and end anchor baby and chain migration citizenship then the job and
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I'm good with island quarantine for those who refuse. We're on the same page.
Good to hear.
As for borders, if we're talking disease it only takes one to infect everyone else and you'll never stop literally everyone.
Well, we have to at least try. I'm trying to figure out what you are proposing we do. There's an obvious threat of disease being spread over national borders. Every nation has the right to defend itself from invaders. While border protection can't stop them all it will certainly reduce the risk. Another means to reduce the risk is vaccination of those already inside the border. Doing one of those is good, but because neither are 100% effective we should do both as best we can.
But if all you want is to reduce immigration, then punishing the crossers won't really help.
Of course it
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They have a civic duty to assist others to not get a horrible disease by getting a simple shot
Nope. Sorry. The natural state is for people to get sick, get injured, and die.
Until you can guarantee immortality, you have no right to force someone else to do something to their body to protect your body.
If you don't want to be exposed to them, then YOU isolate yourself in a protective bubble.