28 Oct An unfamiliar concept: risk

The Globe and Mail’s André Picard continues to talk sense on H1N1 and the mass vaccination campaign. Moneyquote:

In 21st century Canada, risk is a largely unfamiliar concept. In a country of 34 million people that has nearly 400,000 births annually, fewer than 800 children aged 1-14 die each year. (Another 1,200 or so under the age of 1 die, most of congenital abnormalities.) In Canada, the greatest danger to children is falls and motor vehicle collisions. Deaths from infectious disease are remarkably few, in large part due to vaccination. […]

So, what should parents do? First and foremost, they should bite the bullet and get their children vaccinated. Pack a book, a GameBoy, and an iPod and get in line. Stand in line and relish the thought that we live in a country where one of the greatest threats to our children is a bug with a relatively small risk. And don’t forget that the risks of the vaccine itself are vanishingly small.