cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21883763
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2026
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damn. that's kinda accurate. the only thing i'd wanna point out is that literally everyone has to eat food to survive while vaccinations are not strictly necessary for survival.
otherwise this is spot on.
Strictly speaking correct, but back in the day, 40% of kids died before their 15th birthday, in large part because of smallpox, measles and diphtheria, the things we vaccinate for. It's not 100% like with food, but still very tragic.
Vaccines are 40% necessary for survival.
Unfortunately you'll also need to account for generally better access to nutrition in the modern era. The immune system has a better chance if you're not malnourished or starving all winter.
You could probably extrapolate this number by the death rates amongst just the nobility
Not necessarily. Nobiles of the past had a diet similar to ours. Higher fat, carbs, sugars, more processed, not exactly healthy. They were also far less active then their servants and highly, highly, inbred. And while they had healthcare, I wouldn't necessarily call it good healthcare. Having access to more food energy helps but it isn't a magic bullet.
I promise it was a lot healthier than starving during the winter
As for the rest you're really relying on a generalization that's based on what is essentially the highest ranked nobles of the later Renaissance period.
In 1100 AD their marriages were insular, but not hapsburg level. And generally nobles were expected to have some martial prowess or at least look like they did.
But I think this comes down to the bigger issues of people lumping in the middle ages and the Renaissance, and to be completely fair no one specified either
Although in the modern era, you also run increasingly into problematic pesticides, forever chemicals and food deserts delivering only ultraprocessed food. It generates different types of issues.
But then you also have to account for all the processed garbage food we eat now also. There may be less kids starving now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the general quality of the food has also plummeted.
Having an immune system that isn't ruined by diseases is required for survival though.
mhm, but most people have that without vaccinations too.
No, dum-dum, they have that thanks to the vaccination.
Yes, you dumb dumb, I know vaccinations do that. Im saying that our immune system is actually really fucking good and humans did also survive until 40 and up without vaccinations for thousands of years.
Duh, vaccinations contribute a lot but are not strictly required for survival or a functioning immune system
Some humans survived, a huge percentage of them didn't.
If I gave you a revolver with only 2 bullets out of 5 shots and gave it a spin, would you be willing put it to your head and pull the trigger?
Because those are actually better odds of survival than the average human faced before vaccines
The immune system isn't fool proof.
As a species yes. But again, 40% were dead before 15. By 40 that percentage was even bigger. So most did not survive to 40 and up.
But the people without fully functional immune systems rely on the herd immunity provided by vaccinations, so...
I'm not arguing against vaccinations, I hope you realize that. I find it absolutely incredibly what we've been able to achieve in illness prevention and even erradication.
The only thing im trying to say is that we shouldn't understate how incredible the human immune system is, and saying it can't function without vaccines is just misinformation.
You know what would really highlight how amazing the human immune system is, instead of this antivaxxer line of comments?
How introducing an already dead or greatly weakened form of a disease to it gives it the fore knowledge on how to defeat the real thing in the future.
Like. A. Vaccine.
Calm down, Edward Jenner...
aaaaand you missed the point again.
It can function without vaccines just fine.... Until it can't and some disease wipes out half of humanity. And that was all before the modern world was as connected as it is today.
Misinformation my ass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics_and_pandemics