The Impossible Desire for Eradication Without Vaccination

In 1980, smallpox was officially declared eradicated by the World Health Organization as a result of the smallpox vaccine developed in years prior. It is because of this and the many other vaccines that have helped to protect people against infectious diseases that the United States’ leading causes of death are chronic illnesses, vascular diseases, and cancers, according to Dr. Kyle Harper, a history professor and provost at the University of Oklahoma.  Despite these milestones, there are still many who believe vaccines to be unnecessary, and even harmful, in today’s society.  I personally experience this in my own household as only yesterday my mother and I engaged in an amiable debate about vaccines where she endlessly tried to convince me that our immune systems alone were enough to combat diseases such as the flu and the newly established coronavirus.  These are more than just words, however, as her beliefs built upon questionable stories and unsupported evidence have prevented my siblings from receiving flu vaccines, despite them being mandatory for several classes at school.  

 These anti-vaccination outlooks have become so popular that vaccine hesitancy is now one of the top 10 world health threats according to the World Health Organization, with only 72% of Americans believing vaccines are safe.  This number may not be troubling at first, but for some diseases, herd immunity can only be achieved if between 75% and 95% of the population is vaccinated, calling into question the possible eradication of the coronavirus. 

A new poll released by Reuters/Ipsos suggests that a quarter of Americans would not get vaccinated for the coronavirus, meaning that less than 75% would receive it, as seen in the figure above.  This statistic is frightening, as it does not even reach the minimum inoculation rate for herd immunity.  If vaccinations have such close ties to eradication, why are so many people against them?  Unlike Ali Maow Maalin’s fear of needles that prevented his vaccination of smallpox, most anti-vaccination views today are supported by false evidence or terrifying stories, much of which can be hard to argue against as personal accounts carry more than mere statistics often do.

While I do not agree that people should be forced into receiving the vaccination, as history has proved this to be ineffective through events like Brazil’s Revolta da Vac, I do think that vaccines are critical in slowing the spread of disease, especially with novel epidemics like the coronavirus.  Therefore, in motivating people to receive vaccinations, a continuous spread of accurate and accessible information to all will be crucial.  As mentioned in a presentation by Dr. Andrew Wehrman, an assistant professor of history at Central Michigan University, William Buchan once noted that vaccines would become “a custom, the strongest of all laws” if accessible to all and trusted by everyday people.  While I do not think that accessibility to vaccines is our biggest concern today, I do believe that the availability of true information is. 

 With the media constantly portraying contradictory information regarding vaccines and possible cures for the virus, it is important that people receive the right information in order to help increase trust in vaccines and the medical personnel who create and distribute them.  As quarantine orders are put in place, people are asked to stay at home in an effort to lighten loads on hospitals and decrease exposure to the virus, efforts that while significant, leave many to rely fully on the media for information on the pandemic.  People are angry with these measures which has brought up a recent conspiracy called  “Plandemic” that suggests medical officials created an epidemic in order to increase hospital and vaccine profits.  Naturally this idea has been adopted by many anti-vaccinators, hardening their previous beliefs about vaccinations and increasing mistrust among medical officials.    

 With this video overtaking social media platforms in addition to the false news already circling the web, it is critical that information about any developing coronavirus vaccinations be both very accurate and easy to access.  Without widespread education and trust in our medical professionals, we cannot expect to see a change any time soon in these anti-vaccination views as it pertains to the pandemic.  In order to reach a point where eradication is possible, we must first work to increase popularity and accessibility of real evidence in an effort to fill news streams and social media sites with truth.  It is not the people themselves who need to change, but their attitudes, and it is my hope that through personally experiencing this worldwide pandemic and seeing the consequences infectious diseases can have, people who have currently held negative views on vaccinations might become more open and willing to learn more about and receive important vaccinations.  

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