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Thursday, April 25, 2002"A reporter for the Boston Globe accompanied a squad one night and described the scene: "Every imaginable threat from civil suits to cold-blooded murder when they got an opportunity to commit it, was made by the writhing, cursing, struggling tramps who were operated upon, and a lot of them had to be held down in their cots, one big policeman sitting on their legs, and another on their heads, while the third held the arms, bared for the doctors." One "fighting tramp," who "went down in a heap on the floor" from the blow of a policeman's club, received both vaccination and suturing of his scalp." Of course, such tactics were controversial, even at the turn of the twentieth century, and vaccine opponents were very vocal. One opponent went so far as to expose himself to the disease to prove it wasn't dangerous to healthy people: "The 60-year-old Pfeiffer had not been vaccinated since infancy. In an unprecedented move, Durgin lifted the strict requirement of recent, successful vaccination for all health workers entering the Gallop's Island smallpox hospital. Pfeiffer visited the hospital on January 23, 1902, and was escorted among more than 100 patients with smallpox by the physician in charge, Dr. Paul Carson, who reportedly suggested that he smell the odor of a patient's breath. Health officers surreptitiously observed Pfeiffer after the visit, and on February 8, 1902, he was found to be critically ill in his home in Bedford. The following day, the headlines read, "Pfeiffer Has Smallpox. Anti-vaccinationist May Not Live." He lived, but needless to say his case against vaccination was severely weakened. posted by Sydney on 4/25/2002 07:37:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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