History of vaccine concerns

Abstract

Vaccine concerns date back to the eighteenth century during a time of smallpox epidemics in colonial America. Despite increased survival rates among those who were inoculated by variolation, opposition to this procedure was strong. Modern day vaccine fears were fueled by the Cutter Incident when incompletely inactivated polio vaccine was inadvertently administered to children resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. This incident was followed in the 1980s by the release of “DPT: Vaccine Roulette,” a television documentary that engendered fears about the DTP vaccine and galvanized the formation of a well-known anti-vaccine group, National Vaccine Information Center. Parental vaccine safety concerns were fueled by this group and further strengthened with the publication of a controversial paper by Dr. Andrew Wakefield in which he suggested that the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. Despite the retraction of this paper and the discovery that many of its findings were fraudulent, others joined the anti-vaccine movement, including actress Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Bob Sears. These outspoken individuals have influenced many parents by suggesting that parents choose non-scientifically based alternative vaccination schedules that delay or omit vaccines.