Is It True That the Mennonites Haven’t Vaccinated Since 1796?
The Real Truth About Vaccines
Why do some people think that the Mennonites haven’t vaccinated since 1796?
The usual suspects?
Is It True That the Mennonites Haven’t Vaccinated Since 1796?
In a recent interview with Dana Bash, Secretary RFK, Jr emphatically said that “the Mennonites haven’t vaccinated since 1796!”
Do you believe him?
You shouldn’t!
While some Mennonites don’t vaccinate, it is not because of their religion.
Instead of a religious objection, the editor of a popular Mennonite newspaper says that “false information linking vaccinations to autism is playing a role for some in deciding against vaccinating their children.”
Can you guess where that false information has been coming from?
Mennonites Have Been Vaccinating Since 1796
Of course, there is plenty of evidence that Mennonites, like the Amish, do in fact vaccinate both themselves and their children.
Also, they have been getting vaccinated for hundreds of years!
“What is the tradition of Netherlandic Mennonites pertaining to scientific enlightenment and specifically the adoption of vaccinations for community well being? A pair of smallpox vaccination lists for the Chortitza settlement in the years 1809 and 1814 provide a trove of helpful information to answer this question.”
Mennonite Vaccinations - 1809 and 1814
So much for the idea that Mennonites haven’t been vaccinating since 1796, when Edward Jenner developed his smallpox vaccine…
“Chortitza Mennonites “begged” their government liaison, Samuel Contenius, for cowpox vaccines, which confer smallpox immunity. They also requested instructions to vaccinate independently. In response, a medical officer was sent to Chortitza in 1805 to administer vaccines and train locals. In March 1805, an official named Becker from the Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro) Medical Office vaccinated children and trained the community. Old Colony Mennonites were not only vaccinated, they were taught to become vaccinators.”
Vaccines and conservative Mennonite traditions
For example, the Mennonites that were hit by the measles outbreak in West Texas are descended from the Chortitza Old Colony founded in 1789, and yes, they were vaccinating back then so that they didn’t get smallpox.
“Today, some Mennonites believe the conservative tradition discourages vaccination and shuns government health intervention. But the historical record tells a different story. Old Colony ancestors were not only vaccinated, they were thankful for it. They asked for help, learned to vaccinate others and praised God for the state’s support.”
Vaccines and conservative Mennonite traditions
RFK, Jr is obviously wrong.
Historically, since 1796, the Mennonites have supported getting vaccinated and protected!
“Historically and theologically, there has not been any religious teaching against immunization in Mennonite circles,” Nolt said via email. “There’s no religious prohibition, no body of religious writing on it at all. That said, more culturally conservative Mennonite (and Amish) groups have tended to be under-immunized or partially-immunized.
Partly, he said, that’s because they don’t engage as regularly with health care systems as more assimilated groups do. Many traditional Anabaptist groups did accept vaccinations that were promoted in the mid-20th century, such as for tetanus and smallpox, but they have been more skeptical in recent years of newly introduced vaccines, Nolt said.”
Who are the Mennonites in a Texas community where measles is spreading?
And his misinformation is helping fuel the largest measles outbreaks we have seen in 35 years.