The vaccine has been the saviour of our civilization
against fleet after fleet of epidemics that we have had to face across the
ages. One of the most important inventions ever, the vaccine has literally
saved millions of lives, and continues to enable people across the world to
lead normal, healthy lives. In fact, we might not have existed as a race if not
for vaccines.
The invention of the vaccine dates back to the long
history of infectious diseases in humans. There is evidence that the Chinese
and the Indians advocated smallpox inoculation as early as the 16th
century. However, the first vaccine is created to Edward Jenner, who made a
smallpox vaccine in 1796. He realized that milkmaids, who worked with cows, did
not develop the disease, whereas all others did. After further research he
concluded that the cowpox virus (contracted from cows) gave its victims
immunity to smallpox. He then administered the cowpox virus to a boy, and once
the cowpox symptoms died off, he injected in him the smallpox virus. The boy,
however never became ill with smallpox, and this experiment is known as the
world’s first vaccine. Word of this spread like fire, and in only 5 years, more
than 100,000 people had been vaccinated. In 1885, Louis Pasteur made a
breakthrough in vaccination, by making a vaccine against rabies, the first
vaccine not made for smallpox. Slowly, vaccine for various diseases were made, and
vaccination had become so widespread that by 198, smallpox as a disease had
become eradicated. Diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, hepatitis,
chickenpox, pneumonia have all declined by great amounts thanks to the
introduction of vaccines against them, with some such as polio even close to
eradication. Now, millions of vaccines are administered every year, and
millions lead a normal life thanks to this beautiful invention.
