In October, that an anti-vaccine activist threw a menstrual cup at legislators in California during a debate on a bill to restrict vaccine exemptions. Throughout history, varying levels of violence have accompanied immunization policy debates and programs. In the early 1700s, Cottom Mather -- a minister who advocated for smallpox variolation in Massachusetts -- by those who thought he was spreading disease rather than preventing it. Just one week ago (December 2019), healthcare providers and health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , a response that includes .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6majANtntnM
Similar attacks have been launched against polio vaccine brigades in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent years. The two countries in particular, and the area where they are located in general, have been in armed conflict for quite some time. About a decade ago, the Central Intelligence Agency . Since then, many people in Pakistan have been weary of collaborating with vaccination workers, leading to violence in some cases:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhDRvBP7c9k
Peter Hotez, MD, , has been on the receiving end of threats and harassment for decades. When asked about the current state of uncivil discourse about vaccines, Certainly, the advent of social media has allowed anti-vaccine groups to coordinate better, and the monetization of anti-vaccine messages on platforms like YouTube has encouraged entertainers to cater to an audience with anti-vaccine lies and misinformation without much of a filter.