Skip to main content

Vaccine Hesitancy

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout gains traction and we finally seem to have overcome the supply crunch, we now face a new problem- vaccine hesitancy. Although the number of Americans who are hesitant to take the vaccine has steadily been dropping as the numbers of vaccinated people rise with little or no side effects, there are still about 40% of folks who are currently against or undecided about the vaccine. Few of them are staunch anti-vaxxers who protest any vaccine but the majority of these are people who are hesitant to take it due to the uncertainty about the new vaccine.

Interestingly, vaccines have always met with skepticism beginning with the very first vaccine. In 1798, when Edward Jenner introduced the small pox vaccine, it was met with strong opposition and even caricatured in the press with grotesque illustrations of deformities including cow heads growing out of vaccinated people (because the vaccine was made from cow pox).

An 1802 anti-small pox vaccination caricature

In the U.S. too, the small pox vaccination was met with strong opposition at first. Benjamin Franklin experienced first hand the devastating effect of not getting getting vaccinated. He lost his infant son to small pox in 1736, causing him to appeal to the masses to take the vaccine: “I long regretted that I had not given it to him by inoculation, which I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that therefore the safer should be chosen.” It was incidentally Ben Franklin's city (and my hometown), Boston, that became the first American city to make the small pox vaccine mandatory in 1827 for school attendance. 


Sources:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/america-is-now-in-the-hands-of-the-vaccine-hesitant/618352/
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. History of Vaccines Timelines. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia; (1885). Available from: http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Origin of the Word "Cancer"

In my previous post, I explored the history of cancer. Since we know it existed in ancient times, it follows that so did its name. In fact, the name "cancer" was coined by none other than the great Hippocrates (well, not the exact name but the root of the name). Hippocrates in fact, used two terms,  carcinoma and carcinos,  to describe ulcerous and non-ulcerous tumors respectively. He named the tumors after Carcinus (or Karkinos), a giant crab in Greek mythology that was sent by the Goddess Hera to help Hydra fight against Hercules. As to why Hippocrates chose to name the tumor after a crab is not quite clear but there are several theories:       -  The hardness of a malignant tumor reminded him of the hard shell of a crab.      - The pain induced by a malignant tumor is similar to a sharp pinch of a crab's claw.     -  The tenacity of cancer is similar to the determination with which a crab bites and grabs on to a person.  While all these theories seem plausible, the

Hippocrates: Father of Medicine

Another important person in Greek medicine is Hippocrates. Hippocrates is considered the father of modern medicine who continues to influence medicine more than 2000 years later. Although he is as revered as Asclepius, they have very different origins. While Asclepius is a mythological character, considered to be descended from God, Hippocrates is very much a historical figure, whose origin and life is recorded in history. Hippocrates lived from 460 to 375 BCE during the Classical Greece period and practiced medicine in Greece. His contribution to western medicine is rivaled by none other, and his collection of works covers almost every aspect of disease and medicine including infection, hygiene, epidemiology and the human immune system. Bust of Hippocrates Also, unlike Asclepius, Hippocrates practiced medicine as a science, not as divine magic. He was one of the first to separate religion from medicine, and sought to match treatment with symptoms.  His observations in the Corp

Meditrinalia: Festival of Health (AKA Wine!)

Happy Meditrinalia! Those who are legally allowed to, raise a glass of your favorite wine in cheer- the goddess of health is smiling upon you today! Meditrinalia is an ancient Roman festival that was celebrated on October 11 in honor of the goddess of medicine, Meditrina. According to legend, the festival marked the end of the vine harvest, and people of Latium began to taste their new wine on this day. Although it was first celebrated in honor of Jupiter, it soon gave rise to a new goddess of  healing/medicine, Meditrina, on whom the festival is now named.  The Romans made an offering of wine to the gods on this occasion while reciting   " vetus novum vinum bibo, novo veteri morbo medeor."   which translates to  ''Wine new and old I drink, of illness new and old I'm cured."  The new wine was thought to hold healing powers. Given that we now know wine is rich in antioxidants, and it can help reduce cholesterol and heart disease, the ancient Romans sure were o