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| | {{comic | | {{comic |
| | | number = 2448 | | | number = 2448 |
| − | | date = April 9, 2021 | + | | date = April 10, 2021 |
| | | title = Eradication | | | title = Eradication |
| | | image = eradication.png | | | image = eradication.png |
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| | ==Explanation== | | ==Explanation== |
| − | This is another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19 series]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}. | + | {{incomplete|Created by a REVENGE-BASED PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
| | + | This is another comic in the [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19 series]] related to the {{w|2019-20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}}, caused by the {{w|coronavirus}} {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. |
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| − | [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 eventually becoming "another circulating common cold virus". This was considered to be a [https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6530/741 serious possibility], as a combination and vaccines and acquired immunity cause most people to have some degree of immunity as they age. This is particularly likely because SARS-CoV-2 was not believed to pose significant risk to small children, and if most people are infected with it in childhood, they'll likely be immune as adults. Multiple other coronaviruses are common in the human population, and fall under the category of "the common cold", causing only minor and temporary symptoms, with little serious risk for most people. | + | [[Megan]] wants revenge on the pandemic virus. |
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| − | If SARS-CoV-2 does transition to being a minor disease, there will be little reason to continue focused eradication efforts, because the ongoing harm will be too little to justify such efforts. It's extremely difficult to wipe out a virus altogether, as it requires every human population to be either isolated from the disease, or vaccinated until {{W|herd immunity}} is achieved. There are only two viruses which have been totally eliminated in the wild: {{W|Smallpox}} and {{W|rinderpest}}, and rinderpest infects only cattle and other ruminants, not humans. The elimination of smallpox was one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the 20th century, and resulted from an aggressive and ambitious global vaccination effort. Smallpox is now considered to be extinct in the wild, with only a small number of samples still preserved in government labs.
| + | Megan assumes SARS-CoV-2 will remain in circulation even after the pandemic is over. "Vaccines and stuff" will, in all likelihood, reduce it to a background threat, but eradicating an infectious disease entirely is difficult. This can be seen in the ongoing struggle to {{w|Polio eradication|eradicate polio}}. |
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| − | Where diseases continue to be dangerous, ongoing global efforts are made to eliminate them entirely (polio, measles and rubella are currently targets of such programs). If a disease ultimately becomes more or less harmless, its elimination is less of a priority.
| + | {{W|Smallpox}}, mentioned in the title text, was the first human disease that was successfully wiped out in the wild. This is why Megan tells Covid-19 to say hello to Smallpox when we send it permanently to Hell. |
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| − | The joke of this strip is that, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Megan feels so much rage and ill-will toward the disease that vaccination efforts are no longer only a matter of protecting health, but an expression of hostility toward the virus. Her argument is that, even if global elimination efforts are no longer justified by the danger of the virus, they should be pursued "out of spite". Like many other strips in this series, the characters tend to anthropomorphize the virus, treating it as an intelligent and sentient enemy, rather than mere force of nature. Given that mindset, the idea that the virus could cause so many deaths and so much disruption, and then continue to exist without consequence, would upset many people. Cueball agrees with her perspective, approvingly referring to it as "revenge". Cueball has also previously shown a [[2306|merciless attitude towards endemic infections]], even those that aren't particularly deadly, and so the idea of eliminating one entirely would probably appeal to him on its own merits.
| + | To date, the only other documented successful eradication was of {{w|rinderpest}}, a livestock disease declared eradicated in 2011. |
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| − | The title text refers to the aforementioned extinction (in the wild) of smallpox. This is [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PreMortemOneLiner the type of line one might see in fiction], delivered to someone who is about to be killed, taunting them about the death of one of their friends or associates. The line treats the virus like a villain in an action movie, and revelling in the fact that we're finally going to kill it.
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| | ==Transcript== | | ==Transcript== |
| − | :[Megan holding a hand up, palm held out, is walking with Cueball.] | + | :[Megan holding a hand up, palm held out, is walking with Cueball.] |
| | :Megan: Even if the threat eventually fades, thanks to vaccines and stuff, | | :Megan: Even if the threat eventually fades, thanks to vaccines and stuff, |
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| | [[Category:COVID-19]] | | [[Category:COVID-19]] |
| | + | [[Category:COVID-19 vaccine]] |
| | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] |
| | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |
