Medicine - Edward Jenner and Vaccinations Flashcards
What is inoculation?
Deliberately infecting oneself with a disease, in order to avoid getting a more serious case of it later on
What was the issue with inoculations?
It was very risky because someone could get a strong dose of smallpox and die or pass it onto someone else. It was also very expensive so only the rich could afford it.
What was Jenner’s theory?
His theory was that if someone was infected with cowpox, a harmless disease, they wouldn’t get small pox. Meaning the two were connected.
In what year did Jenner test his theory on James Phipps?
1796
Where did he write his findings?
An Enquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variola Vaccinae. He made sure his instructions for his method were clear because he wanted people to use the vaccination to stop smallpox from spreading.
Who and why did people disagree with the idea?
The Royal Society - he couldn’t explain why or how it worked which other scientists/doctors found suspicious
General Public - idea of infecting someone with an animal disease was strange
Church - against God’s will
Who was in favour of vaccination and why?
The Government were in favour because it was safer and more reliable than inoculations as well as being cheaper cause you didn’t have to quarantine the recipients.
Why were vaccines important to preventing disease?
It led to a significant fall in the number of deaths from Smallpox when it became compulsory and strictly enforced by the government. They were a lot safer than inoculations.
Why were vaccines not important to preventing disease?
It did not lead to any other breakthroughs because Jenner could not explain why or how it worked, it was only a chance connection between cowpox and smallpox, he couldn’t use his method to prevent any other diseases.
What was the Smallpox issue in 18th century Britain?
Terrible threat to health of population at the start of 18th century. 11 epidemics in London in the 18th century.
How did the government have an impact on the use of vaccinations?
From the 1840’s the government made vaccination compulsory and used taxes to pay for children to be vaccinated.
What did the government do after a serious outbreak of smallpox in the 1830’s?
They made it a crime to inoculate.
