We used to be a country that whole heartedly embraced a preventative for small pox, polio, and influenza

Yea, no… you got a very rosy image of history in your mind. There were massive protests and constant public pushback against vaccines for as long as vaccines have existed.

historyofvaccines.org/…/history-anti-vaccination-…

The fight for vaccination has been rough fought against the tides of the confidently ignorant who let their irrational emotions control them.