Smallpox Vaccinations
It was once a rite of passage for American children prior to the onset of their academic career to receive a vaccination against smallpox. The vaccine site led to a scab, which after falling off left a scar on the shoulder opposite the patient’s dominant arm. The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccination ever developed, and it provided a defense against what was once one of the deadliest and most contagious diseases known.
Initially there was strong resistance against the vaccine, particularly the vaccination of children, which parents feared would lead to the development of the disease itself. In the early days of vaccination several experimenters did contract the disease, some fatally. It took Dr. Edward Jenner to develop the theory that people who had previously caught the disease known as cowpox were immune to smallpox. Jenner’s development of a working vaccine stemmed from his observations.
In Europe compulsory vaccination laws were in place by the 1870s, although always controversial. In the United States the federal government left the matter of vaccination up to the states. Throughout the nineteenth century the pendulum swung back and forth as states made vaccination mandatory and relented, allowing for voluntary vaccination based on individual choice. Some states made it compulsory to vaccinate infants, and refused access to public education facilities for those who were not.
Most doctors recommended the smallpox vaccination, and many states followed their recommendations in requiring it of children prior to the beginning of schooling, whether it be in public or private school. In the United States, smallpox was eventually controlled to the point that routine vaccinations were discontinued in the early 1970s. Military recruits and those planning overseas travel were still required in most cases to be vaccinated.
Today smallpox is considered to have been eradicated, although there are still samples of the virus contained in controlled laboratory storage. Some medical professionals continue to be vaccinated and anti-bioterrorist plans call for a number of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals be vaccinated as a defense against a deliberate smallpox attack.