Can officials require vaccinations against measles? A century-old case may give them a foothold

When New York’s health department announced this week that it would mandate vaccinations in parts of Brooklyn to quell a ballooning measles outbreak, it was not the first to take such a step. In fact, its legal basis for the rare effort may be predicated on the actions of Massachusetts authorities who tried — and succeeded — in doing so over a century ago.

In 1902, a Massachusetts man defied an order to be vaccinated against smallpox despite the fact the dangerous disease — since eradicated, thanks to vaccine — was spreading in Cambridge. The fight that ensued between the Rev. Henning Jacobson and public health authorities became a pillar on which public health powers have relied since the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the state’s favor three years later.