Why mandatory vaccination is nothing new

‘Mandatory vaccinations have been with us for centuries, quietly saving lives – and they're often largely unopposed until something changes.

‘When chosen carefully, there's no question that mandatory vaccinations can save lives. For example, one study found that patients were substantially less likely to die (with mortality rates of around 13.6% mortality verses 22.4%) in hospitals where healthcare workers had higher rates of flu vaccination compared to those with low rates, though patients were equally as likely to be infected with the virus.

Another European study also found that in countries with mandatory measles vaccinations, and without non-medical exemptions, the disease incidence was 86% lower than in countries without the mandates.   
‘One common tension is between obligation, which can increase hostility, and voluntary vaccination, which can increase transmission. Some health experts are nervous about mandatory vaccination because these policies may diminish trust in medical authorities over the long term. Vaccine mandates have led to violent riots in Brazil and may have contributed to vociferous anti-vaccine movements all over Europe, for instance.

‘In France, one of the world's hotspots of vaccine hesitancy, the Ministry of Health has attempted to reduce the polarising effects of vaccine mandates by embedding mandates within a broader effort to build trust. This has led to improved vaccine coverage, although a significant minority are still vaccine-hesitant – suggesting the importance of continuing to monitor attitudes and strengthening relationships between the medical establishment and the public.’

Read here (BBC, Nov 1, 2021)

Vaccine hesitancy is nothing new. Here’s the damage it’s done over centuries

“Vaccine hesitancy has less to do with misunderstanding the science and more to do with general mistrust of scientific institutions and government,” says Maya Goldenberg, a philosophy expert at the University of Guelph, Ontario, who studies the phenomenon. Historically, people harmed or oppressed by such institutions are the ones most likely to resist vaccines, adds Agnes Arnold-Forster, a medical historian at the University of Bristol in England.

‘A range of recurring and intersecting themes have fueled hesitancy globally and historically. These include anxiety about unnatural substances in the body, vaccines as government surveillance or weapons, and personal liberty violations. Other concerns relate to parental autonomy, faith-based objections, and worries about infertility, disability or disease. For example, some people oppose vaccines that were grown in cell culture lines that began from aborted fetal cells, or they mistakenly believe vaccines contain fetal cells. One of today’s false beliefs — that COVID-19 vaccines contain a microchip — represents anxiety about both vaccine ingredients and vaccines as a surveillance tool.’

Read here (Science News, May 11, 2021)