via Chris Anderson on Twitter.

Smallpox was eradicated via immunizations because smallpox was only transmitted from human to human. Therefore, there is literally one person who is known as the last person on earth to have gotten smallpox. Polio could be eradicated very soon if the Muslim nations harboring wild polio in their children would stop thinking that the Polio vaccine is a western trick to sterilize children. Since polio is only transmitted via humans, if you eliminate polio from the last human being on the planet, you eliminate polio.

Vaccines simply save lives. But like peanuts and shellfish and anything else you put in your body, there can be complications. These anti-vaxxers should also be anti-peanut and anything else that has a potential for allergic reactions. But last I checked, peanuts haven’t been shown to save millions upon millions of people’s lives.

How do you fight irrational misinformation? Through more facts? Probably not. The Australians think black and white text will work. I think not. Everything is about good marketing and messaging. Unfortunately, because healthcare is just so unsexy we have to fight for lives with the most boring ads you can imagine. Occasionally, we get something good.

Hey any of you people want to put some of your creative genius into fighting the good fight and saving children from parental misinformation? Anyone want to help create a network of design professionals who can put their expertise to work for proven healthcare initiatives that save lives on either a volunteer or paid basis? I know there are health agencies and individual health professionals who need help creating the visuals and messaging around various unsexy health problems. But since they are selling an idea that can’t be commercialized like pills, just by saving lives, they don’t have any money. Anyone want to help create this network?

I’ve owned healthetica.com for quite some time. I think it would serve this purpose well…

Let me know…