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1/ Did you know that anti-vaxxers aren't a new thing? It actually has deep origins in the anti-science movements of the 1600's.. a thread
2/William Blake in the 1700's-1800's reacted strongly against the work of Isaac Newton, Blake thought that "Newton, Bacon, and Locke with their emphasis on reason were nothing more than 'the three great teachers of atheism, or Satan's Doctrine'
3/Yes, there were actually Anti-Newtonians who disagreed with a Newtonian universe
4/ This anti-science perspective which came from those who were against 'Scientism' in the Enlightenment continued to evolve as the biological sciences arose
5/ The anti-vaccine movement was once intertwined with the anti-germ theory of disease, people literally believed that germs (in this case bacteria) didn't cause disease (thank goodness for Robert Koch and his discovery of the causative agent of Anthrax which led to germ theory)
6/Following Edward Jenner's discovery with smallpox, that milk maid's seemed to be immune to smallpox, Jenner's idea's around vaccination were criticized for sanitary, religious, scientific, and political reasons. Even though he turned out to be right
7/ Smallpox before vaccines made COVID19 look like a common cold, 3 out of 10 people who caught it died (30% mortality rate)
8/ In the 1800's for some parents, the vaccine itself induced fear, Clergy believed that it was unchristian, for others, their discontent reflected their general distrust in medicine and many people objected to them because they believed it violated their personal liberty
9/ What's old is new, in England The Vaccination Act of 1853 ordered mandatory vaccination for infants up to 3 months old and the Act of 1867 extended this age requirement to 14 years.
10/ The new laws in 1853 and 1867, were met with immediate resistance from citizens who demanded the right to control their bodies and those of their children (again this is against Smallpox which had a 30% mortality rate)
11/ Even the marches were happening then "The Leicester Demonstration March of 1885 was one of the most notorious anti-vaccination demonstrations. There, 80,000-100,000 anti-vaccinators led an elaborate march, complete with banners, a child’s coffin, and an effigy of Jenner."
12/ Smallpox didn't care about "consciousness" objectors and where people went, so did the disease (and the anti-vaxxers) at the end of the 19th century, smallpox outbreaks in the United States led to vaccine campaigns and related anti-vaccine activity.
13/ The Anti Vaccination Society of America was founded in 1879. The American anti-vaccinationists waged court battles to repeal vaccination laws in several states including California, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
14/ In 1902, following a smallpox outbreak, the City of Cambridge, MA, mandated all city residents to be vaccinated against smallpox. City resident Henning Jacobson refused vaccination on the grounds that the law violated his right to care for his own body how he knew best...
15/ Guess what happened, in turn, the city filed criminal charges against him. After losing his court battle Jacobson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Guess what happened next?
16/ In 1905 the Supreme Court found in the state’s favor, ruling that the state could enact compulsory laws to protect the public in the event of a communicable disease. This was the first US Supreme Court case concerning the power of states in public health law.
17/ In 1998, British doctor Andrew Wakefield made spurious claims between autism and the MMR vaccine and alleged the vaccine was not properly tested before being put into use. The media seized these stories, igniting public fear and confusion over the safety of the vaccine.
18/ In 2011, the BMJ published a series of reports outlining evidence that Wakefield had committed scientific fraud by falsifying data on the MMR vaccine and also that Wakefield hoped to financially profit from his investigations.
19/ Since Wakefield's fraudulent claims on the MMR vaccine, a large number of research studies have been conducted to assess the safety of the MMR vaccine, and none of them has found a link between the vaccine and autism
20/ Fast forwarding to today, the anti-science and anti-vaxxer movement is no different today than it was in the 1600's, they're not denying Newton's laws of gravity any more, just infectious disease and the science behind vaccinations which work to prevent disease.
