Irish & American Paediatric Society Meeting

Most parents clearly understand that childhood vaccinations for potentially lethal infectious diseases are safe, effective, and crucial to children’s health. Decision making on whether to vaccinate or not to vaccinate is multifactorial and complex. While doctors use scientific evidence and research to promote vaccination in vaccine hesitant and vaccine resistant parents, anti-vaccine activists use emotive language, powerful images and anecdotes to promote their agenda. Although, perhaps not as powerful as the personal anecdote in changing minds, historical vaccine narratives may have a role to play in promoting vaccine uptake. In 1860, George Boole, foundation Professor of Mathematics at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland and discoverer of Boolean algebra, decided to have one of his daughters, little Alice aged 2 1⁄2, vaccinated against smallpox, which was then flourishing in the city. The vaccination with cowpox was uneventful. The fact is that personal stories of successful, safe vaccinations are almost always left untold, leaving anti-vaccine activists unlimited scope to infect the population with their dangerous propaganda. While smallpox has been eradicated from the world, mankind is not immune from a resurgence of the virus, in the context of bio-terrorism. Mass population based smallpox vaccination may yet be required.