The Original 'Conscientious Objectors'?

I was surprised to hear that the term 'conscientious objector' was first applied to people who were vaccine hesitant, rather than to folk who objected to taking up arms in war. Laura Spinney poses the question 'Could understanding the history of anti-vaccine sentiment help us to overcome it? (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/26/could-understanding-the-history-of-anti-vaccine-sentiment-help-us-to-overcome-it). Spinney cites Paula Larrson, who pointed out that vaccine hesitancy, is at least as old as vaccines per se. It is certainly true that the history of vaccine use has not been without occassional 'horrors' (from unsanitary treatments and bad batches to people being vaccinated at gunpoint). Larrson noted that the antivaxx modus operandi is consistent. An early example, was the activity of a Dr Alexander Ross in the Montreal Smallpox outbreak of 1885. Ross set himself up as a 'white knight'. He firstly talked down the severity of the disease and exaggerated the vaccine threat. Ross then hinted at a bigger conspiracy by 'authorities' and enlisted the support of other well-connected people, who challenged the consensus (bizzarely, Ross got himself vaccinated against Smallpox). There was also a cultural issue at work here, as Francophones didn't want to be injected by English-speaking doctors. Spinney feels that trust (rather than education) is the real issue. As she says, public health experts generally stress the benefits of vaccination to society, whereas vaccine-related injuries (from a sore arm to death) are experienced personally. This issue of the 'common good' versus 'my individual concerns' seem to be the crux of the problem. People are perhaps also more likely to respond positively to individuals with whom they can identify. So you may need vaccination advocates from a number of ethnic backgrounds. Being a vaccination advocate means, however, honestly describing the dangers of Covid-19 but also being clear about possible side-effects to vaccination. The 'white knights' can only be countered by gaining the trust of your 'people'.