What started the anti-vaxxer movement?

The anti-vaxxer movement was started when smallpox was an epidemic. In the early 1800s, vaccines became widespread after a group of Edward Jenner’s cowpox experiments. The experiments proved, or supposedly proved that a vaccine could prevent a child from getting smallpox by exposing him to a small amount of it.

There were many who did not believe or approve of the vaccine due to political, religious, personal, and humanitarian reasons. The group that adamantly fought it were the first anti-vaxxers.

Opposition to immunization has existed for as long as the vaccination itself. There was opposition to the smallpox vaccine in the 1800s, and it resulted in anti-vaccination leagues. It also sparked controversy over the safety of immunizations. Edward Jenner’s complex experiments, in which he revealed that could protect the child from smallpox if he infected him or her with lymph from a cowpox blister.

The vaccination act of 1853 was met with quite a bit of resistance because parents were vehemently opposed to anyone interfering with their children’s rights and the parent’s rights to control their children’s bodies. Many groups formed because of the vaccine laws, which they said that forcing vaccines interfered with individual rights. Some clergy and religious sects argued that the vaccine itself was “unchristian,” because it came from an animal. Some of the other anti-vaxxers mistrusted the minds behind medicine. The mistrust only grew when vaccines became mandatory.