Opinion: Vaccine hesitancy goes back 200 years. We need global techniques here in the U.S. Michael Nyenhuis FacebookTwitterEmail Shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine seen on May 12.Ron Harris/Associated Press When it comes to vaccinations, the Bay Area is outpacing other counties in California and across the country. Yet vaccine hesitancy remains a barrier to achieving herd immunity here and elsewhere. The debate around vaccine misinformation — and the ease with which it spreads on social media — is dominating the news right now. But vaccine hesitancy is a centuries-old problem that transcends technology, borders and political affiliations. It has existed since the first vaccine was invented for smallpox in 1796. As that vaccine was introduced widely in England, some religious clerics and medical professionals were skeptical that it was safe; some even charged that the vaccine would “leave children with distinctly bovine features.” This misinformation spread faster than the vaccination campaign. By the time the smallpox vaccine reached the United States, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation had already taken hold. By the turn of the 20th century, resistance against state mandates for the vaccine helped sow the seeds for much of the vaccine hesitancy seen today.