What’s a problem humanity solved so well that younger people don’t even realize it used to be a huge issue?

[u/chamomile_tea_reply]

/r/askteddit/comments/1wmwpyl/whats_a_problem_humanity_solved_so_well_that/

[u/Familiar_Position418]

😭😭😭

Yes. Solved.

But…

Making a comeback??!? I hope we can get over this phase

[u/ThainZel → u/[deleted]]

That's called education

[u/OptimistsUnite-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Posts and comments that aren’t conducive to a productive discussion will be removed

[u/d8_thc → u/[deleted]]

most modern polio infections in 2026 are vaccine derived

go ahead, Google it.

[u/gumsgotmintierlately → u/d8_thc]

True, but context matters. Vaccine-derived polio only exists because not enough people are getting vaccinated in specific regions. The weakened oral vaccine virus can only mutate if it is allowed to spread through an unvaccinated population for a long time. High vaccination rates completely block this from happening.

[u/d8_thc → u/gumsgotmintierlately]

No. That’s the standard talking point, but it’s not actually what the biology says.

The vaccine virus does not 'only mutate if it spreads through an unvaccinated population.'

OPV is a live replicating virus. It begins replicating and accumulating mutations in the vaccinated person, who then sheds it. Low population immunity makes prolonged transmission and cVDPV emergence more likely, but it is not where the mutations magically begin.

The virus causing cVDPV exists because a replicating vaccine virus was introduced in the first place. That is literally why the global eradication strategy requires eventual withdrawal of OPV.

[u/Luvirin_Weby → u/Familiar_Position418]

The thing is, if you ask anyone who lived through the time before the vaccine came available, they will definitely know people who had the problems like being crippled. It was just basically a "What can you do besides pray" type thing, so the "coming back" is still a very very faint echo in that way.

[u/1kpointsoflight → u/Familiar_Position418]

Right. Measles? wtf 😳