HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR ANTI-VACCINATION MOVEMENTS In 1796, Edward Jenner presented his article on the successful use of vaccination to prevent smallpox to the Royal Society of London (Wolfe and Sharp 2002). The acceptance of the validity of his methods gave scientific merit to this preventative technique. The rise of widespread use of vaccinations in the early 1800s is attributable to Jenner’s work. As the use of vaccinations to prevent smallpox spread, the government felt it necessary to make vaccines available to more people. The United Kingdom passed the first Vaccination Act in 1840, providing free vaccines to the poor. As pressures to vaccinate to decrease smallpox outbreaks continued to increase, another Vaccination Act in 1853. This …show more content…
The Act of 1853’s addition of implementing penalties for non-compliance sparked further outrage in citizens and the Anti-Vaccination League was founded in London that same year. A third Vaccination Act was passed in 1867, extending the age of compulsory vaccination to 14 and implementing cumulative punishments for non-compliance. The Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League was founded in 1867 to argue against government infringement on personal liberty and choice by mandating vaccination. Anti-Vaccination sentiments continued to spread and in 1885, over 100,000 people demonstrated against vaccination in Leicester, England. A royal commission was formed to address and investigate the anti-vaccination movement in response to the demonstrate. After a seven-year investigation, the commission concluded that there was scientific proof that vaccination protected against smallpox but recommended the removal of cumulative penalties to appease the opposition. The Vaccination Act of 1898 repealed the accumulation of penalties and enacted a clause allowing parents who did not believe in the safety or efficacy of vaccination to obtain documentation exempting them from complying. This act appeased the opposition which …show more content…
Three Supreme Court cases in the early 1900s established the government’s stand on vaccinations in terms of public health. The first case is Jacobson v. Massachusetts. In 1902, a smallpox outbreak prompted the Cambridge Board of Health to require all residents to be vaccinated (Parmet, Goodman, and Farber 2005). Reverend Henning Jacobson refused to be vaccinated and was convicted and fined $5. Jacobson appealed his case, arguing mandatory vaccination violated the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of an individual’s right to due process and equal protection under the law. The rhetoric used in his appeals to the court was religiously charged but his argument was not an attempt to cite religious freedom as a cause for anti-vaccination. In February of 1905, the Supreme Court rejected Jacobson’s contention and ruled that states had the right to limit an individual’s liberty in cases of well-established public health interventions. The court also contended that the state may not use public health laws in an arbitrary and oppressive manner. The 1922 Supreme Court case of Zucht v King, the court examined the issues of mandatory vaccination and requiring children to be vaccinated before entering the public school system (Silverman and Thomas 2001). In this case, a young woman was denied access
At times the mortality rate was not less than one-sixth of the birth rate. Modern medicine had developed significantly since this time, but during this period, the only way people believed this disease could be prevented was through inoculation. Before the discovery of the vaccine, people would infect themselves and their children with the smallpox virus in the hopes to become immune to it. The process included using a “lancet wet with fresh matter taken from a ripe pustule of some person who suffered from smallpox… and then subcutaneously introduced on the arms or legs of the nonimmune person.”
Partner Summary The article “Should Anti-Vaxers be shamed or Persuaded”, is about how Anti-vaccination protesters should not be bullied or shamed into agreeing with the opposing viewpoint. The author distinguishes the difference between, bullying them into submission, and persuading them to the right side. Though not a parent, the author believes that kids should be vaccinated except in rare cases.
Works Cited Jacobs, Charlotte Decores. "Vaccinations Have Always Been Controversial in America : What It Means to Be American." What It Means to Be American. Charlotte Decroes Jacobs, 4 Aug. 2015. Web.
After seeing the results of the successful vaccinations, England passed two acts that required the smallpox vaccine. Many people believed that it violated their personal liberty because the government was forcing everyone to be injected with a drug against their permission. In response, two groups formed called the Anti-Vaccination League and the Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League. They planned demonstrations that lead to the development of a commission to study vaccinations. This commission ruled that the vaccine did protect against smallpox, but parents should not be penalized for choosing not to vaccinate their children.
The influenza pandemic was devastating among those infected and was responsible for the death of 675,000 Americans and 50 million people all over the world in 1918. As a result of this devastation, vaccines were formulated to prevent future outbreak of deadly and viral diseases, some becoming required by law. However, today many people have decided to boycott any form of vaccination whether it be for their children, or even their pets, due to the modern theory that they may weaken new immune systems. History has proven over time that vaccinations are absolutely effective in preventing dangerous strains of illnesses while saving countless lives since their creation and should be given to all children and at-risk adults.
The Choice is Obvious Over the past decade, a new movement has been prevalent in the United States targeting vaccinations. This movement is known as the Anti-Vaccination movement. Vaccinations are a complex and counterfactual subject that are actually quite difficult to comprehend for some individuals. A main component of vaccines is the concept of herd immunity which merely states that you need a high percentage of a population to get vaccinated in order to protect against outbreaks.
Vaccination rules need to be changed to prevent a major outbreak of several or one diseases. The CDC can reduce the number of unvaccinated children by creating strict rules that parents must follow. Therefore; the vaccines will be technically forced upon the child if needed and given proper
Throughout the 19th century, much of the legislation and oversight of vaccinations fell to the states and local jurisdictions. This included production and distribution of vaccines, enforcement (including penal outcomes) of regulation, and final adjudication of any disputes (Gostin, 2008). In 1902, however the U.S. Congress passed the “Biologics Control Act” (BCA) which set the standards for the first legislation of drugs. This meant that guidance on the production, distribution, and research on vaccines came from the federal level.
Regardless, there is no retributive justice, or punishment for those who choose not to vaccinate. The government understands that the goals of the community may not resonate with every family, and they are willing to make exemptions. The incredible accessibility of the vaccination program and the numerous resources demonstrates a clear will to enable everyone to vaccinate their
Hence the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion." {GA May 1 1929 502} [Vaccinations were also stated by the Society to be a "direct violation of the everlasting covenant" and Witnesses were told not to have any - until WT Dec 15 1952 764 "The matter of vaccination is one for the individual that has to face it to decide for himself ... our Society cannot afford to be drawn into the affair legally or take the responsibility for the way the case turns out ... all objection to vaccination on scriptural grounds seems to be
Required Immunity Mandatory vaccinations for children in public schools have been the center of much debate since laws were first developed to regulate immunization. Fears from parents about side effects and adverse reactions have steered many away from wanting to vaccinate their children despite the numerous infectious diseases they prevent. These debates have gotten in the way of progression in schools for preventing the spread of disease. To me, the risks of not vaccinating children are far greater than the risks of adverse reactions.
Many people may think that vaccination is a bad thing, that instead of preventing it causes illness, that is not natural. Natural or not, there are many reasons as to why we should vaccinate us and the younger generation. Most of the time children don’t like vaccination because it hurt, but is the responsibility of a parent to seek the wellbeing of his or her child. Vaccination it’s a preventive measure of various diseases. Unfortunately, things like the anti-vaccination movement, the misinformation on the Internet, and the believe that vaccination causes more damage than is worth, have led our society to think that it’s right not to vaccinate.
Modern medicine provides people with the ability to protect themselves from the world’s most fatal diseases. Merely a century ago, it was not uncommon for a child to die as a result of diseases such as polio, pertussis, and tuberculosis. Today, it is highly unlikely for a person to contract these diseases, let alone die from them. However, refusal of vaccinations has been increasing throughout the years due to the anti-vaccination movement. This movement declares mandatory vaccines unconstitutional and vaccinations overall as the cause of autism.
The year of 1853 deemed obligatory for all children born after the first of August to receive routine immunizations. By 1898, one hundred years after Edward Jenner’s unveiling of the vaccine, smallpox in London had fallen dramatically – to one in every 100,000 (less than 50 people per
I would have to side with the requirement that vaccinations should be mandatory because it is not just the health of a single individual but the health of the entire human civilization. As a Christian, I believe that vaccinations help our health. They are something that God has given us. We should use them to our best knowledge to help our body. Although, I see the reasoning behind not requiring vaccinations.