The Price of Unconsciousness: Anti-vaccines Movements and Scientific Development of Immunology

Abstract

This article presents the narrative about the importance of vaccines in public health to highlight the scientific development required and involved for their production, and their importance for health by exploring events that denote scientific development and unfounded opposition towards the immunization of the population against vaccine-preventable diseases. The corresponding literature review was carried out in online databases using the keywords: vaccines, scientific development, and denial of vaccination, vaccination, and anti-vaccines.  Furthermore, it was found that vaccines, toxoids, and biologicals to prevent contagion or serious forms of infectious disease, whether by viruses or bacteria, are more understood than a century ago. Vaccination aroused along health policies and is recognized as one of the most cost-effective practices on the planet. Although constantly and coupled with the development and implementation of vaccination schemes, some social groups appear to oppose this practice. Being anti-vaccination is often associated to fear, religious beliefs, ignorance, and more frequently, a lack of social awareness of the responsibility to immunize minors and vulnerable groups, especially those with risk factors or co morbidities, including the current pandemic catastrophe due to covid-19. Not getting vaccinated due to the circulation of unreliable information, without scientific bases, puts the human population at risk and is often common among individuals with vulnerabilities in academic and socioeconomic sectors such as poverty, and other types of vaccine-related beliefs.