03/01/2021
Today it's the 270th birthday of , pioneer of vaccination who has arguably saved more lives than anyone else in history. Here’s a post in his honour. (Photo of two children - one vaccinated against smallpox, the other not - from Dr Jenner's House, Museum and Garden.).
Smallpox is one of the deadliest & most contagious diseases known to man. The virus killed over half a billion people in the twentieth century alone—three times the number of deaths from all of the century’s wars combined. On 8 May 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the eradication of smallpox. This was an unprecedented event in history, signaling the first and only annihilation of a human disease. The victory—which saved tens of millions of lives—fulfilled the lifelong dream Edward Jenner, who first tested his vaccine on 14 May 1796.
Jenner noticed that dairymaids who contracted cowpox never developed smallpox. Working from this, he developed a vaccine from cowpox. Indeed, the word “vaccination,” coined by Jenner in 1796, is derived from the Latin root vaccinus, meaning "of or from the cow.” The prominent Scottish physician Sir Walter Farquhar advised Jenner that if he kept the nature of the vaccine a secret, it could yield him a nest egg of as much as £100,000. But Jenner nurtured no such ambitions.
In 1798, he had a hut built in his garden & christened it the TEMPLE OF VACCINIA. It not only became a beacon of hope for the poor who sought protection against smallpox, but it was also the site of the first public health service in Britain. Though he never left his own country, Jenner became celebrated as a savior the world over. In a letter to Jenner, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “mankind can never forget that you have lived.”
The concept of vaccination dates back much further than most people realize. You can visit Dr Jenner's House, Museum and Garden, and the Temple of Vaccinia today. I hope you enjoyed this post!
