Recently the University of Toronto made news when it was discovered that a course called Alternative Health: Theory and Practice, being taught to 4th year undergraduate students, contained content that echoed the sentiments of the anti-vaccination movement.

Furthermore, some of the course readings and videos were created by prominent figures in the anti-vaccination movement.

The University defended the course by saying that students who were taking this course were in their 4th year of study and are expected to look at controversial material with a critical lens.

The issue that many saw with the course, however, was that the material was not being presented to students in a way that suggested that they should be critical. Other professors and experts in the field took issue with the fact that the anti-vaccination material was not put in context and felt that students could misunderstand the fact that some of the material had no basis in science.

The course contained other areas that many in the medical community take issue with such as homeopathic remedies and the idea that meditation alone can shrink tumours, but it is not surprising that the anti-vaccination material is what caused the most alarm.

When large numbers of people stop vaccinating their families, long forgotten illnesses like measles and whooping cough (pertussis) can resurface and cause an outbreak. From a public health standpoint this is a much more serious situation than someone deciding to take a homeopathic remedy for their back ache.

The consequences of falling vaccinations rates have already been seen in a number of measles outbreaks in the US and Canada, so the notion of telling university students, who may go on to work in medical fields, to view anti-vaccination material without giving them proper context is pretty scary.

While the university defended aspects of the course, they did concede that there were issues with the presentation of the material and, in the end, decided that it will not be taught this summer or fall.

Like the experts who raised the alarm about this course in the first place, I am glad to hear that the University of Toronto will no longer be offering it, however it does raise concern that this kind of material is finding its way into Canadian universities.

Queen’s University recently had a similar issue with a course being taught in their kinesiology department, but they too pulled the course.

I think one of the reasons that the anti-vaccination movement has gained steam is that most people living in the US and Canada have never witnessed an epidemic wreak havoc on their town or city. It’s easy to forget that there was a time when many people died or were permanently injured when highly infectious diseases were not kept in check through the widespread use of vaccines.

That said, I still think that a discussion about the anti-vaccination movement could be a really useful classroom exercise. Vaccines keep people safe and understanding what causes

people to forego them will help future medical professionals understand what kind of education and public outreach is needed to keep vaccination rates high.