Top US expert on vaccines. (Image: AP/Canva)
\n\nVaccines have transformed modern medicine, helping protect people against infectious diseases that once caused widespread deaths. Yet, questions about vaccine safety, personal choice and whether immunisation should be mandatory continue to spark debate, particularly in the United States. With World Polio Day, the discussion has gained renewed relevance as vaccine policies and public attitudes towards immunisation remain topics of political and public health debate.
\n\nJared Frederick, a teaching professor of history at Penn State Altoona, believes that looking at the past can help people understand the importance of vaccines today. Speaking about the history of vaccination in America, he highlighted how infectious diseases once posed a serious threat to families, soldiers and society at large.
\n\n“In the years prior to vaccines, death was constantly lingering around the corner,” Frederick said, pointing to the high infant mortality rates and much lower life expectancy that characterised earlier periods.
\n\n“This was one of the great terrors that afflicted American society, going all the way back to the time of the American Revolution,” he added.
\n\nFrederick explained that scientists and doctors across generations continued searching for ways to tackle diseases that could claim thousands of lives. These…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi
