One of the perennial problems blocking polio eradication is the persistent belief that the rounds of vaccination meant to protect children are actually a covert campaign to harm them. I’ve seen it myself, in my reporting, and studies examining the 23-year effort’s inability to get to zero describe it as well.
From the sanitized safety of the industrialized world, it’s hard to imagine how any neighborhood or tribe could hold such views. Which is why the report on Friday of news regarding a 15-year-old court case is so important. The actions that prompted the case created mistrust so long-lasting that it undermines unrelated medical campaigns, including polio, today.