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In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story.
Walter Cronkite 1916-2009
Introduction
After countless millennia without protection against pathogenic microbes, which killed millions of human beings, the seminal contributions of the renowned physician, Dr. Edward Jenner (1749-1823) of Gloucestershire, England regarding the initial smallpox inoculation in May 1796 led to a sophisticated array of effective vaccines in the 21st century (1). Smallpox, a major scourge of mankind, was removed from the earth one hundred and eighty four years after Jenner inoculated the 8 year old James Phipps with cowpox vaccine (2). Not only has smallpox been removed from the earth except for stockpiles of the deadly smallpox virus, additional vaccines that were developed in the late 19th-21st centuries have dramatically improved health for homo sapiens.
It can be said that the work of this physician has saved more lives than any other person or therapeutic tool in mankind's medical armamentarium. It is estimated that, between 1994 and 2013, the Vaccine for Children (VFC) Program in the United States has prevented 322 million illnesses, 21 million hospitalizations, and 732,000 deaths over the lifetime of these children with a net savings of $295 billion in direct costs and $1.38 trillion in total cost to society (3). Experts note that the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) of the World Health Organization (WHO) that was started in 1974 has prevented the deaths of two million to three million persons each year (4).
Though the science of a vaccinology is impressive and ranks at the top of medical wonders in the 21st century, controversies about and misunderstandings of immunizations have occurred since the beginning of this field in the 19th century. Over two hundred years after Jenner's inaugural work, myths have arisen regarding the safety as well as the efficacy of vaccines. The 20th century development of the internet has worsened this situation for the general public as much biased and inaccurate information can easily be found on this modern medium of messaging and communications. If one becomes too wary of the safety of vaccines, this method of prevention is withheld leading to unnecessary (i.e., preventable) human morbidity and mortality. However, use of vaccines does carry some risk to the public with potential adverse effects that...