TY - JOUR
T1 - Mistrust in medicine
T2 - The rise and fall of America's first vaccine institute
AU - Lanzarotta, Tess
AU - Ramos, Marco A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program grant TG 2T32GM07205. We thank Catherine Mas, Melissa Grafe, John Harley Warner, Naomi Rogers, and Jason L. Schwartz for their generous and insightful feedback on this article.We thank the Journal’s anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - In 1813, the American government passed An Act to Encourage Vaccination, the first federal endorsement of a medical practice in American history. The law tasked a federal agent with maintaining a supply of the smallpox vaccine and distributing it nationwide. James Smith, a well-respected physician and proponent of vaccination, was appointed as vaccine agent. Smith was skeptical of claims that only well-trained physicians should be allowed to perform vaccination; he felt it was a simple procedure that should be available to all American citizens. In 1822, he made a tragic error that caused several deaths and left him vulnerable to criticism from political opponents and his medical peers. This ended Smith's professional career and led to the repeal of the act itself. In this article, we use the rise and fall of James Smith to provide a historical perspective on contemporary debates surrounding delayed vaccination schedules. We explain how physicians-in the 19th century and today-have worked to build public trust in vaccination in an American culture suspicious of medical expertise.
AB - In 1813, the American government passed An Act to Encourage Vaccination, the first federal endorsement of a medical practice in American history. The law tasked a federal agent with maintaining a supply of the smallpox vaccine and distributing it nationwide. James Smith, a well-respected physician and proponent of vaccination, was appointed as vaccine agent. Smith was skeptical of claims that only well-trained physicians should be allowed to perform vaccination; he felt it was a simple procedure that should be available to all American citizens. In 1822, he made a tragic error that caused several deaths and left him vulnerable to criticism from political opponents and his medical peers. This ended Smith's professional career and led to the repeal of the act itself. In this article, we use the rise and fall of James Smith to provide a historical perspective on contemporary debates surrounding delayed vaccination schedules. We explain how physicians-in the 19th century and today-have worked to build public trust in vaccination in an American culture suspicious of medical expertise.
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304348
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304348
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29741934
AN - SCOPUS:85046818644
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 108
SP - 741
EP - 747
JO - American Journal of Public Health
JF - American Journal of Public Health
IS - 6
ER -