February 8th, 2018 By: Vincent Iannelli, MD Source: https://www.verywellfamily.com It is likely a surprise to many people that there has always been an anti-vaccine movement. It isn't something new that was created by Jenny McCarthy and Bob Sears. 18th Century Anti-Vaccine Movement In fact, the anti-vaccine movement essentially predates the first vaccine. Edward Jenner's first experiments with a smallpox vaccine began in 1796. Even before that, variolation as a technique to prevent smallpox was practiced for centuries in many parts of the world, including Africa, China, India, and the Ottoman Empire. In fact, Onesimus, his African slave, taught Cotton Mather about the technique in 1706. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu introduced inoculation to England, having learned about the practice in Turkey. As she encouraged others to inoculate and protect their children against smallpox, including the Royal Family, there was much debate. It is said that "Pro-inoculators tended to write in the cool and factual tones encouraged by the Royal Society, with frequent appeals to reason, the modern progress of science and the courtesy subsisting among gentlemen. Anti-inoculators purposely wrote like demagogues, using heated tones and lurid scare stories to promote paranoia." Were those the first vaccine debates? 19th Century Anti-Vaccine Movement Eventually, Edward Jenner's smallpox vaccine replaced variolation. Even though this was much safer than the previous practice and smallpox was still a big killer, there were still those who objected. Much of the resistance may have come because getting the smallpox vaccine in the UK in the 19th century was compulsory—you [...]