Immunity Under Debate: Science Authority and Collective Risk

When prevention became a public policy, private choices acquired political consequences. From smallpox inoculation to mass vaccination, governments and medical institutions confronted uncertainty, uneven access, compulsory measures, and organized opposition. This account examines how knowledge was tested, communicated, and contested across different eras. By placing scientific change beside law and social experience, it explains why confidence could grow rapidly in one community and fracture in another.