Leicester Sanitation Versus Vaccination (PDF)

In Leicester: Sanitation Versus Vaccination, J.T. Biggs presents a comprehensive critique of vaccination, arguing that improved sanitation and hygiene are far more effective in controlling infectious diseases than vaccination. Biggs draws from the experience of Leicester, a town that, by the late 19th century, had largely rejected compulsory smallpox vaccination in favor of rigorous sanitation measures. He documents how this approach led to significantly reduced rates of smallpox without the risks he associated with vaccination. Biggs advocates for public health policies focused on environmental cleanliness and preventive sanitation, asserting that these methods offer a safer and more reliable foundation for public health than vaccination, which he believed was neither safe nor scientifically justified.