Student Article
The Race for a Cure: How Vaccines Were Developed for 4 Deadly Diseases
Inoculation (noun): The administration of a vaccine to protect against disease.
Attenuate (verb): Weaken a virus to make it safer for a vaccine.
Vaccination has played an essential role in combating some of the most deadly diseases in history.
The beginning of vaccinations
It began with Edward Jenner’s 1798 discovery that cowpox, a mild disease found in cattle, could protect humans from smallpox, a much more dangerous illness. Jenner’s groundbreaking work laid the foundation for modern immunology. At the time, smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases, killing millions worldwide. Jenner's vaccination not only helped reduce the disease’s impact but also introduced the idea of inoculating healthy people to prevent illness. This was a revolutionary concept that would go on to save millions of lives.
Advancements in the 19th Century
The term "vaccination" itself was coined by Jenner’s contemporary, Richard Dunning, and in the 19th Century, Louis Pasteur expanded upon Jenner's work. Pasteur was instrumental in developing vaccines for several other diseases, including rabies and anthrax. His approach involved attenuating — or weakening — disease-causing organisms so that they could stimulate an immune response without causing severe illness. Pasteur’s methods led to the creation of vaccines that would help control previously untreatable diseases.
Fighting tuberculosis
In the early 20th Century, tuberculosis (TB) was a major health crisis. It was a leading cause of death worldwide, with symptoms including severe coughing and weight loss. The Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine, developed by Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin at the Pasteur Institute in France, offered protection against TB. The vaccine was developed over 13 years of research, including experimentation with bovine TB strains. The BCG vaccine was first administered to humans in 1921, and its global use helped reduce TB rates.
Polio vaccine success
The battle against polio, which caused paralysis and death, was another triumph of vaccination. Polio outbreaks devastated communities, with many children becoming permanently disabled. In the 1950s, Jonas Salk developed the first effective polio vaccine, which used an inactivated virus to safely immunize individuals. The vaccine’s success, combined with large-scale vaccination campaigns, led to the eventual near-eradication of polio.
Ongoing challenges and global health
These advancements in vaccine development not only saved millions of lives but also changed the way we approach infectious diseases. However, despite these successes, opposition to vaccination has persisted throughout history, with some arguing against its safety and effectiveness.
© Gareth Williams / www.historyextra.com
Inoculation (noun): The administration of a vaccine to protect against disease.
Attenuate (verb): Weaken a virus to make it safer for a vaccine.