Introduction

Vaccination is an important and sometimes controversial topic among people today, even more so during the 1900s. Vaccines, through some home remedy or another, have always played a role in history. Merriam-Webster defines a vaccine as “a preparation that is administered to stimulate the body’s immune response against a specific infectious agent or disease” (Merriam-Webster, 2019). Throughout history we have seen many forms of “vaccines” such as in 1796, Edward Jenner would inoculate someone with cowpox, meaning infect them with a disease with the purpose of preventing or building immunization. This was a way of introducing someone to a less lethal vaccine in a controlled manner. The purpose of this was because it was observed that cowpox helped prevent smallpox (History of Smallpox Vaccination, n.d., paras. 14–16). Many articles propose, vaccines that were introduced in the 1900s faced major backlash. Reasons ranged from misinformation to religious beliefs. The spreading of misinformation was a powerful tactic that caused a sense of panic and fear around the idea of vaccinations. As more studies and research began surfacing, people began to disregard their misconceptions. With this, people became more receptive to learning and accepting scientific knowledge. Some diseases that took over the 1900s include: smallpox, influenza A and B, polio, measles, HIV/AIDS. This led to the need of vaccines for these major diseases as well as some other for lesser known outbreaks.

Vaccines in STS

Vaccination is a broad topic when talking about how science, technology, and society all come together. Vaccines, themselves, are a scientific technological advancement that were created to prevent diseases in society. They do this by exposing someone to a small amount of a disease strand to help their immune system build a resistance to help fight off a future infection.  As society grows and changes the technology created is shaped by the needs of the public and new available resources. These changes are not always positive, however, such as influenza A and B. These strands infected millions worldwide. Society was scared and declining, scientists were motivated to end this. While vaccines were in the works, the public was recommended to quarantine, keep distance from others while out, and practice good hygiene. This outcome–personal hygiene and cleanliness becoming a more regular practice in society–shows a direct connection between how world events influence societal behavior. During the 1940s, technology had allowed people’s homes to have plumbing, electricity, and clean running water; allowing people to have better hygiene. The technological response, vaccines, created by scientists was in response to the needs of society. Scientists created vaccination to aid the world during scary and unknowing times. A few other tactics were anti-influenza facial masks, while they were not all that helpful this was another technological advancement that scientists created to help society (The Flu Pandemic of 1918, 2024). These byproducts can be understood through the lens of social constructivism theory, in the sense that knowledge is constructed through social interactions (UC Berkeley Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Research Center, Social constructivism 2017). This was seen through the growing knowledge that hygiene and vaccinations were a beneficial aspect to society and public health. As people started seeing positive outcomes from–what now seems like common discipline–showering everyday and frequently washing their hands; as well as periodically getting vaccination shots, they started sharing these suggestions with others. These shared experiences have now become universal teachings that children are taught from a young age and are passed down with each generation, which can reflect back to the theory of social constructivism.

Outbreaks during the 1900s

The 1900s was a pivotal era for the United States; cultivating advancements in transportation, communication, industry, daily life, and medicine. The smallpox vaccine was already embedded into society in the beginning of the 1900s. It was mandated in most states as a measure of protection against the disease, especially among younger children. This became a more popular trend since, before vaccines were readily available, most children died before their fifth birthdays from infectious diseases (American Lung Association, n.d., para. 3). In 1905, the U.S. The Supreme Court passed a ruling that states may enact compulsory laws with the intention of protecting the public (Harlan et al., 2019). The next major advancement was the DTP vaccine, which was a concoction of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. This also caused panic because the misconception of “overloading” began. Overloading the immune system was a misbelief that a child’s immune system would not be able to sustain multiple anti-agents. Parents were worried that that combination would result in harmful side effects (Misconceptions About Vaccines, n.d., p. Misconceptions about Vaccines).

As acceptance started to take shape around vaccines and death rates lowered, the Influenza Pandemic began to spread worldwide. The 1918 “Spanish Flu” was one of the most notable pandemics, to date. This disease spread worldwide, infecting one third of the population, and killing millions. With society struggling this much, scientists were determined to find a solution. The biggest setback was that it was believed to be a bacterial disease, we now know it is viral. Scientists hadn’t figured out that it was a virus until 1933, when British researchers isolated a sample and found no bacteria. With this new breakthrough scientists worldwide began working on a new solution. In 1945 the first inactivated flu vaccine was developed by Thomas Francis and Jonas Salk (History of Influenza Vaccination, n.d., sec. Progress toward a vaccine). The public had a positive reaction to this outcome, because they had seen the benefits from past vaccines. An important note that makes the flu shot different from other vaccines is that it is annually updated. Since it is a virus, it rapidly changes and can create strains that are resistant to the shot. This is why, as of the 1940s, it was recommended to get a flu shot every year, along with spaced out routine doses of the smallpox and DTP vaccines.

The next notable vaccine race was for Polio. This infectious disease was at its worst between the 1940s-50s. Polio mainly affected children, it targeted the nervous system and usually led to spinal or respiratory paralysis or in many cases death. At this point, most of the public knew the benefits that vaccines held. So finding a cure for polio was important, as it became the most feared disease of this time. As this disease paralyzed millions, Jonas Salks created the first successful vaccine, with help from John Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins, this was a Nobel Prize winning discovery. He tested the disease on his family in 1953, and on over a million children a year later. After a successful treatment, his vaccine was licensed in 1953. This dropped cases from 58,000 to 5600, only 161 cases were recorded in 1961. Years later an oral polio vaccine was created, becoming cheaper to create and easier to distribute (History of Polio Vaccination, n.d.). The public increasingly has had a more positive look on vaccines and their impact on people’s health. In the 1950s, the recommended vaccines were updated to: smallpox, DTP, and now polio (Philadelphia, n.d., sec. Late 1950s).

The measles vaccine was another pivotal advancement for scientists. This disease had reportedly been around since the 9th century, seen in early Persian physician notes (College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 2019). It hadn’t been widespread until global exploration increased in the 16th century. It was found by Dr. Francis Home that it was transmitted by a pathogen. Before the vaccine was invented in 1963, measles cases worldwide were considered an epidemic. This was due to its severely contagious nature (World Health Organization, 2025a). As countries further developed in hygiene, death rates slightly lowered. However, since this is a virus scientists faced similar issues to influenza. In 1912, all cases were mandatory to be reported, in the United States, because it had become a nationally notifiable disease. It wasn’t until John F. Enders and Dr. Thomas C. Peeble collected blood samples from infected students where they were able to isolate the measles virus and create the vaccine. David Edmonston, was the young boy whose blood sample was used to finally create a successful vaccine (World Health Organization, 2025a). David’s contributions were not mentioned in many of the sources. It is important to include his name so there are no missing voices in the discovery of the measles vaccine. In 1963, the vaccine had started being distributed. In 1968, an updated measles vaccine had been created by Dr. Maurice Hilleman, this has been in standard use, in the United States, since (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).

Conclusion

The development and implementation of vaccines, during the 1900s in the United States, has a clear intersection between science, technology, and society. Despite early resistance led by misinformation and fear, scientific research and successful immunization efforts demonstrate the profound impact vaccines have had on reducing disease and death rates. These vaccines targeted infectious diseases such as: smallpox, influenza, polio, and the measles. Over time, increasing public acceptance reveals a clear trust in medical advancements and public health initiatives. These historical developments not only transformed healthcare practices in the 1900s but also paved a path for modern vaccination techniques. This emphasizes the continued importance of vaccines in protecting population health and medicinal advancements.

References

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999, July 30). Achievements in public health, 1900-1999: Control of Infectious Diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4829a1.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 9). History of measles. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/history.html

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2018, January 25). Misconceptions about vaccines. History of Vaccines RSS. https://historyofvaccines.org/vaccines-101/misconceptions-about-vaccines/

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2025, February 16). Measles. History of Vaccines RSS. https://historyofvaccines.org/history/measles/overview/

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Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Vaccine. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 16, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vaccine

National Archives and Records Administration. (2024). The flu pandemic of 1918. National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/flu-pandemic-1918

Offit, P. A. (Ed.). (2023, August 21). Vaccine history: Developments by year | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center . https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/science-history/vaccine-history/developments-by-year

UC Berkeley. (2017, December 4). Social constructivism. GSI Teaching & Resource Center. https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/social-constructivism/

World Health Organization. (n.d.-a). History of influenza vaccination. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-influenza-vaccination

World Health Organization. (n.d.-b). History of measles vaccination. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-measles-vaccination

World Health Organization. (n.d.-c). History of polio vaccination. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/history-of-polio-vaccination

AI Use Acknowledgements

I did not use any specific AI sites but I did rely on Google’s AI overview that pops up when you look up a question. I would use the summary text it provides to make sure the links related to my topics. I then read through the provided articles to find more information.