Why is anyone anti-vaccine? A history of vaccination and anti-vaccination

History gives perspective on the social meanings of vaccine and shows that anti-vaccination movements are an old and recurrent social issue, one that can develop into a social movement. Legislating vaccination can evoke strong resistance. History also matters because anti-vaccination activists validate their practices by invoking “the past.” For example, an argument might state that in the past exposure to measles was the natural way to build immunity.

— Presenter: Ellen Amster, PhD, Jason A. Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics; and historian, Department of History

— Event co-organized by Dr. Ellen Amster and the Hannah Unit in the History of Medicine.

— Video recorded and edited by Sohail Mahmood, Karun Tandon and Mawleshan Pathmarajah

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