Years ago, a pediatrician told me a story about vaccinating one of his patients. He had carefully drawn up the dose, flicked away the bubbles, and was about to administer the needle when the child suddenly started seizing. Everything ended up fine, but had the seizure started seconds later, could anything have convinced the mother it wasn’t because of the vaccine?
Vaccination is a miracle of modern medicine, but there’s still something bizarre about being jabbed with a weakened pathogen – or some other mysterious substance. To get vaccinated, then, is an act of trust.
