Here's an good, historically accurate history of immunization, presented by the Smithsonian Museum of History. (bewynfur might want to skip the first couple of pages, as there are photos of needles and syringes that he would find scary ;)


http://americanhistory.si.edu/polio/virusvaccine/history.htm


The site traces the history of vaccines and in particular the fight to eradicate polio. In the light of all the claims we hear on CureZone about how vaccines are all a Big Pharma moneymaking plot, it's eye-opening to see how much of the effort into developing a polio vaccine came about due to private philanthropic efforts. Much of this progress came thanks to groups such as the March of Dimes, scientists doing research with funds provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, and Rotary International. The two scientists most responsible for getting the first polio vaccines introduced, Sabin and Salk, did not take out patents on their vaccines; they donated the rights to them as gifts to mankind.

"In the United States, 86 percent of children are current in all of their vaccinations. The low figure is partly accounted for by groups who object to vaccination for religious or other reasons. In addition, most parents today have no memory of the serious childhood diseases of a generation ago."

Visiting the Smithsonian site brings home how much things have changed since vaccines were introduced. Before they were available in the Western world, epidemics of infectious disease were major scourges, killing and injuring large numbers of people and creating great fear and economic distress. Today, most of us recognize the value of vaccines in keeping us safe from formerly dreaded diseases. Yet some, who don't remember or know the past, are more prone to worry about vaccine side effects and to buy into the false claims of antivaccinationists that this vital component of our public health system is unnecessary.

Let's hope education can convince these doubters, before the unvaccinated help to spread new epidemics of preventable diseases.