A striking photo of two boys from a 1901 medical textbook: “It’s an image of the consequences of being vaccinated versus not,” says Kathleen Bachynski... This photo was effective, she notes, precisely because smallpox was such a disfiguring illness." https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/01/vaccine-photography/617678/

"This crowning triumph for public health also highlights the challenge of conveying immunization’s merits in photos. The success of vaccines is defined by the absence of illnesses that previously ravaged the globe; their benefits are, quite literally, invisible."

"Images frequently accompany news stories about vaccination, but by default they tend to depict the act of immunization, featuring large needles... The overwhelmingly negative emotions these photos elicit—disgust, anxiety, fear—might subtly alter public feelings toward vaccines."

"There has been a push in recent years for journalists and editors to select photos that accurately highlight the result, rather than the process, of inoculation: pictures of smiling, healthy children and adults. The choice of which images to publish is significant."

"For decades, anti-vaccine groups have relied on the power of personal narratives to bolster claims of vaccine danger. Vaccine selfies, accompanied by captions offering moving anecdotes or thoughtful reasoning, provide a fitting and necessary counterargument."

"The vaccine selfie may seem like a relatively modest endeavor... but together the people posting these early images share a formidable message: We believe in this so strongly, we’re not only volunteering to go first, but are thrilled to be given the chance." Brava @BritTrogenMD!