Vaccine Hesitancy faces Scars from the PAST
How has history fueled our fears?
Vaccine hesitancy is not new nor uncommon. COVID-19 vaccines are some of the most effective vaccines developed, yet Vaccine hesitancy is at the highest rate of all times. Why this fear and uncertainty? When unsure of how we have arrived a particular cross road, it’s best to retrace our steps.
One of the earliest and most popular starting points for vaccine hesitancy dates back to 1798 after the small pox vaccine was introduced. Many religious leaders were highly opposed thus, causing the vaccine to be banned in many European countries. In Stockholm, Sweden those religious arguments were responsible for a 40% reduction in vaccine rates in 1873, during a smallpox epidemic. After countless deaths in this region, vaccination rates improved and eventually the epidemic came to an end in Sweden.
Religious texts do not specifically address the topic of vaccination as most religious have been started before vaccines were invented. Some famous christian arguments include: if God decrees that someone should die of smallpox, it would be a sin to thwart God’s will by vaccination. Jewish and Islamic scholars have raised opposition to vaccines because of gelatine used in making those vaccines. Their main concern was about the kosher or halal status of the vaccine.
