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Freedom, Rights, and Vaccine Refusal: The History of an Idea
James Colgrove1, Sara J Samuel1
1The authors are with the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.
American Journal of Public Health
|January 26, 2022
Summary
Antivaccination activists have historically framed their opposition using arguments of freedom and individual rights, a tactic that continues to influence public health discourse today. This historical perspective is crucial for understanding contemporary vaccine hesitancy, including for COVID-19 vaccines.
Area of Science:
- Public Health History
- Social Science and Medicine
- History of Vaccination
Background:
- Examined the historical use of freedom and individual rights arguments by vaccination opponents in the United States.
- Focused on the period from the 1880s to the 1920s, a key era of early antivaccination activism.
Observation:
- Antivaccination activists prominently invoked liberty and freedom, particularly against compulsory vaccination laws.
- Arguments extended to encompass personal health choices, parental autonomy, and resistance to expert authority.
- Recent trends show vaccine refusal increasingly framed as a civil right.
Findings:
- The framing of vaccine resistance as a matter of freedom and rights has been a consistent theme throughout US history.
- Liberty-based arguments were employed even when vaccinations were not mandatory.
- This historical framing of individual rights is deeply embedded in vaccine hesitancy.
Implications:
- Understanding this historical context is vital for addressing current vaccine hesitancy.
- The persistent framing of vaccine refusal as a civil right may significantly impact future public health initiatives, including COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
- Historical analysis provides insights into the enduring tension between public health mandates and individual liberties.
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