Monday, October 06, 2008

2008 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was announced today. It was given to the discoverer of the human papilloma virus and the discoverers of HIV. Recently a vaccine was developed for HPV that, if we could get past the ignorance of people, could wipe HPV from off the face of the earth. I've said before that I'm a hard-core libertarian in all things but this: if there is a vaccine that could eliminate a virus and thus a human disease from the earth, everyone has to get vaccinated. You simply don't get to choose to knowingly spread a virus and endanger people's lives that way.

Of course, the good news is that a vaccine was developed for HPV recently. Let us pray that an HIV vaccine or cure is not too far behind. Unfortunately, HIV is such a different virus.

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