Just been reading about compulsory vaccination for smallpox......an 1840 Act made it free for infants, but the outcomes were pretty variable depending on the quality of the initial vaccination, whether the efficacy of the serum or the capabilities of the vaccinator. It became compulsory in 1870 with poor law guardians being required to provide suitably remunerated vaccinators but there were still parents being taken to court and fined for refusing.
There was a lot of opposition and controversy about vaccinations being voiced in the newspapers of 1864. Medical men were trying to mount sensible evidence based on facts. On the ground however it came down to whether a proper vaccination had been given. There were also religious/moral arguments circulating. Using cowpox as a serum, animals terrible, and smallpox was really the result of intemperate living, disgraceful
