Instructions

Read the following passage and answer the THREE questions that follow.

If we imagine the action of a vaccine not just in terms of how it affects a single body, but also in terms of how it affects the collective body of a community, it is fair to think of vaccination as a kind of banking of immunity. Contributions to this bank are donations to those who cannot or will not be protected by their own immunity. This is the principle of herd immunity, and it is through herd immunity that mass vaccination becomes far more effective than individual vaccination.
Any given vaccine can fail to produce immunity in an individual, and some vaccines, like the influenza vaccine, are less effective than others. But when enough people are vaccinated with even a relatively ineffective vaccine, viruses have trouble moving from host to host and cease to spread, sparing both the unvaccinated and those in whom vaccination has not produced immunity. This is why the chances of contracting measles can be higher for a vaccinated person living in a largely unvaccinated community than they are for an unvaccinated person living in a largely vaccinated community.

The unvaccinated person is protected by the bodies around her, bodies through which disease is not circulating. But a vaccinated person surrounded by bodies that host disease is left vulnerable to vaccine failure or fading immunity. We are protected not so much by our own skin, but by what is beyond it. The boundaries between our bodies begin to dissolve here. Donations of blood and organs move between us, exiting one body and entering another, and so too with immunity, which is a common trust as much as it is a private account. Those of us who draw on collective immunity owe our health to our neighbors.

Question 75

Based on the last paragraph of the passage, which of the following would the author BEST agree with?

Solution

Option E is the correct answer.

Based on the last paragraph of the passage, the author would best agree with Option E.

The author emphasizes the interconnectedness of immunity within a community and the role each individual plays in maintaining it. The author states, “We are protected not so much by our own skin, but by what is beyond it,” and “Those of us who draw on collective immunity owe our health to our neighbors,” which underscores the importance of each individual’s role in a community’s health.

Option A is incorrect, as the passage does not specifically discuss the need for communities to come together during health crises.

Option B is incorrect as the author does not explicitly mention the importance of expressing gratitude to those who contribute to herd immunity.

Option C is incorrect. While the passage implies the importance of vaccination, it does not state that it is an ethical obligation of individuals.

Option D is incorrect.In the passage, the author does not describe immunity as transactional.


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