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From: decomyn@penguin.uss.tek.com
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: virus analogy
Message-ID: <0006.9008301334.AA25774@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 26 Aug 90 00:48:38 GMT
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SYSBXR@SUVM.ACS.SYR.EDU (Bridget Rutty) writes:
>>    I can think of at least one precedent from the medical profession
>>- - the Saulk (sp?) vaccine (the primary polio vaccine in the US).  Thiss
>>vaccine is a live, contagious, virus. Any Physician who administers it
>>is releasing a virus into the population. This is considered an
>>advantage. ...
>
>This is NOT a precedent, or even a good analogy.  Physicians do not
>administer any medication, vaccine or otherwise, without understanding
>the risks and benefits.  Patients do not get vaccines without consenting.
>Granted, some patients may not understand all the risks of a vaccine
>but that probably is because they do not ask.

This is not exactly true.  Although the person getting the vaccine (or
their parents) hopefully understand the risks and benifits, the Salk
vaccine actually spreads to non-vaccinated people, transmitting the
benifits of the vaccine to them without their knowledge or consent.
That is why the Salk vaccine is used, rather than a killed virus
vaccine.

Brendt Hess
decomyn@penguin.uss.tek.com