Exemptions From Immunization

Background:
Vaccine-introduces immune system to low levels of pathogen antigens to trigger a memory response
- Best vaccines are based off of proteins antigens (best for T-cell recognition)
- To stimulate a strong response it must cause inflammation (adjuvants)
- Because vaccines contain…pathogens or pathogen parts and adjuvant, some vaccines will always have adverse reactions including death, this leads to opposition against vaccines
- Also a variety of philosophic and religious objections to vaccines
- Even most effective vaccines have some failure rate
Bottom Line of Paper: Vaccines provide public good, at a private risk
Concept of Herd Immunity
- Protection of all individuals in a population from infection with disease because almost all individuals in a population are immune to it
**Because vaccine exempters tend to cluster they increase the likely hood of a vaccinated individual to contract the disease, this compromises herd immunity and leaves it incomplete