Vaccinations: History, Pluses, and Minuses

Edward Jenner pioneered the use of vaccines in 1796. In that year, Jenner showed that inoculation with the Vaccinia virus provided protection against contracting the disease of smallpox. Since that time, development and testing has led to the use of vaccines against an increasing number of diseases (Plotkin 1349-1359).

Depending upon the disease against which protection is sought, as well as on the age of people targeted for protection through vaccinations, vaccines may be administered once in a lifetime or multiple times. Additionally, the ages, physical conditions, and exposures to risk of different people determine which people will be vaccinated against which diseases (Wolfe and Sharpe 431-432).

Today, opposition to vaccinations is quite strong among some members of the population. Such opposition may be against vaccines generally or it may be against specific vaccines. Safety concerns may focus on target populations (fears associated with vaccinating young children, as an example), the reliability of a particular vaccine, the validity o