An Irrational Movement That Has Been Around for Some Time
Vaccination is the most effective method to prevent or combat infectious diseases. The use of vaccines on a global scale in the modern era has been one of humanity’s greatest triumphs. Vaccination and the resultant widespread immunity have eradicated the deadly smallpox – a highly infectious contagion that killed about 10% to 30% of those caught it, and scarred, blinded, or otherwise disfigured survivors. Vaccines have also eliminated diseases such as tetanus and polio from much of the world. Numerous studies over the years have verified the effectiveness of vaccination.
Unfortunately, an eruption – or more like resurgence – of dumb beliefs that lack any scientific support have triggered an anti-vaccination panic among many, that threatens to undo much of that progress. For example measles, a highly infectious disease that killed millions around the world every year until as recently as the 1980s, saw its fatalities drop to only 73,000 a year because of widespread vaccination. Measles was all but eradicated in America. Then a wave of vaccine resistance, based on science-y sounding gibberish and fraudulent studies, fueled a comeback. As seen below, such irrational resistance has historic precedent. Anti-vaccine advocates have been around since vaccines were first invented.
