TRENTON, N.J. – Governor Phil Murphy announced on Monday that there have now been 11 presumptive “positive” tests for Coronavirus in New Jersey while another 28 individuals are either undergoing tests or are being actively investigated.
The spread of the contagious Chinese-born virus in the Garden State drew urgings of caution from elected leaders; one leader – state Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13) went one step further, pointing out that fear of pandemics was a commonplace occurrence before vaccinations became prevalent.
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“For anyone who’s wondering, this is what the world looked like pre-vaccine,” said O’Scanlon, the sole voice of reason on the GOP side of the aisle during the recent school vaccination mandate debate in Trenton. “People today are not accustomed to living in a world where highly contagious pathogens are a problem, and that’s because vaccines have successfully minimized the threat of dangerous diseases like measles and polio that once were a major threat. I have no doubt that a vaccine for COVID-19 eventually will be deployed with similar impact.”
The Spanish Flu is the most famous and dramatic relatively contemporary example of the impact which pandemics can have in a society lacking the protection of modern vaccines.
In 1921, 15,000 Americans died from diphtheria prior to the development of a vaccine.
By contrast, there were only been two reported cases of diphtheria over the 10-year span between 2004 and 2014.
Similarly, German measles (aka rubella) killed 2,000 infants and caused 11,000 miscarriages between 1964 and 1965.
There have been only a handful of reported rubella cases over the past decade.
O’Scanlon’s optimism for a Coronavirus vaccine could be validated close to home. The New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson is actively developing a vaccination which some experts hope will be available in the coming months.
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