Give Me Liberty … or a COVID-19 Vaccine?
An exploration of the 1905 Jacobson v. Massachusetts case and what it can teach us today
Recent polls indicate that approximately one-third to two-thirds of Americans would not get a coronavirus vaccine or be hesitant to do so when one becomes available. While vaccine hesitancy has increased in recent years and the World Health Organization has named this one of the top-ten global health threats, the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated is nothing new. Many examples can be drawn from history, but one from the turn of the twentieth century may shed light on some of the questions we face today. In 1902, a Cambridge minister defied a Massachusetts law that empowered local boards of health to enforce mandatory smallpox vaccination. He claimed the law violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to liberty, and the case wound its way to our nation’s highest court. The U.S. Supreme Court addressed questions such as: Can vaccinations be compelled? What of individual liberty and bodily integrity? And what safeguards prevent the law from sliding down a slippery slope? As current vaccine development proceeds at “warp speed,” the United States should prepare for issues we know will arise: concerns about safety and efficacy, frictions over a tiered rollout, challenges with distribution, storage, and multiple doses, and state and/or company mandates. Although 115 years old, the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts has till much to teach us today.
(Photo © Dr. Fred Murphy/CDC)
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