Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com 15
February 22-March 29, 2021
IZATI N
I
noculation — seeking to immunize against a deadly disease
through deliberate exposure to a weaker pathogen — has been
practiced for at least 400 years, but the world's first vaccine was
developed in the late 18th century, using cowpox to
immunize against deadly smallpox.
Thanks to the crusading efforts of English physician
Edward Jenner — who coined the term "vaccination" (from
"vaccinia," the Latin name of cowpox) and published the first
scientific paper about the procedure in 1798 — vaccination
was widely adopted throughout Europe, replacing older and
more hazardous forms of inoculation such as variolation.
SLIDING BACKWARDS
✚ Jenner's work paved the way for the many other successful vaccines that followed.
Cowpox vaccination was effective enough that the French emperor, Napoleon
As we move towards COVID-19 mass vaccination,
what lessons can history teach us?
B Y R U T H K O P P E L R O S E N B L U M , R N , D N P , P N P - B C
Then
and
Now
By the mid-20th
century, immuniza-
tion had become a
cornerstone of public
health policy.
Although all current
childhood vaccines
have decades of solid
medical evidence,
one in five adults may
have misconceptions
about vaccination.
O
