Compulsory vaccinations: Where do we draw the line?

[MineralMan]

40. Public health is far more important than you think.

Last edited Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:39 PM - Edit history (1)

When I lived in California, I had a very good friend who was a textile artist. He had spectacular talent, and his works hang in museums. Then he ordered some raw wool from Pakistan. It was special wool from some rare goat variety, and wasn't available in the United States, so he ordered it and had it shipped here, to spin into yarn for an upcoming project.

Two weeks after it arrived, he died of anthrax in a hospital near where he lived. You see, the reason that raw wool wasn't available is because anthrax is common in that region and US laws prohibit the import of raw wool from that region. He couldn't be bothered with that law and got around it to get what he wanted. He died. He endangered many people in the process, since his illness wasn't quickly diagnosed, since it's rarely seen in the US. Fortunately, he did not transmit the disease to others. The wool he had illegally imported was destroyed by the authorities and nobody else got anthrax.

Public health laws are important.

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/2001/Anthrax-Cases-Stir-Painful-Memories/id-9d7b6f0d17467890ff2a0a74ca06ea7a