immunization

There is a long his­tory of oppo­si­tion to vac­ci­na­tion, oppo­si­tion that dates back to its ear­li­est uses in Europe and North America to fight small­pox. Opponents have made claims rang­ing from accu­sa­tions that vac­ci­na­tion inter­feres with “God’s will” to claims that it actu­ally con­tributed to the spread of small­pox instead of pre­vent­ing it.