Sunday, April 19, 2009

Basic Vaccine History

Vaccines were developed mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries as preventative medicine for bacterial and viral diseases. The first vaccine was developed by Edward Jenner for cattle. Smallpox was a fatal disease that was becoming an epidemic during this time. He noticed that milkmaids who did were exposed to cowpox in cattle did not acquire the disease. He then inoculated cattle with the smallpox vaccine from human subjects and they developed immunity to cowpox. The Latin root vacca or cow is responsible for the name- vaccination.

Immunity develops when a weak form of a disease is inoculated. Antibodies are produced by the immune systems as well as other factors that are said to develop the immune response and prevent the disease from invading the body in the future.


Louis Pasteur developed the rabies vaccine by injecting 15 day old spinal fluid of a rabies-infected rabbit into a patient, and continuing to inject the patient with fresher samples on a daily basis. Immunity was built stronger and stronger each day until the patient was completely immune to the rabies virus as the injections increased in virility.




As vaccinations became more advanced and widespread, the ethics of policies became controversial. Individual immunity originally was available to the rich, and then became more widespread throughout the population to include more people and produce herd immunity. Herd immunity for certain population or areas of the world led to the possibility of completely disease eradication. The immunity of the entire world population to certain diseases, for example smallpox and measles, mumps, and rubella became more accepted and expected.

The problem with widespread immunity is that the disease becomes so uncommon that people will overlook the risk The lower perceived risk can reduce the chances that people will become vaccinated and have their families vaccinated. Lower perceived risk of not getting vaccinated, medical safety concerns, political or religious reasons, and concern about excessive government or institutional power over the individual have contributed to resistance to vaccination. This is obviously a risk to all of society, because the virus could adapt and a new strain could be resistant.


As a result of this, some vaccines have become required by law. In 1853, the smallpox vaccination became required in England and Wales. In the 1905, the US Supreme Court ruled that certain vaccinations for individuals become required. Many policy issues arise by vaccination requirements because there is a compromise between the health of society and the freedom of the individual. Vaccinations are required for children enrolling in public school, for those enlisting in the military, and for citizens with green cards. Exemptions are allowed for school aged children who have compromised immune systems, have allergies to immunizations, and those whose parents hold religious or personal objections. Physicians are required discuss the decision and inform the parents of the potential harm of not getting their children vaccinated. They are required to respect the decision of their patients, but if the child is at risk for immediate or serious harm child protective services can be notified. A medical neglect form is filled out by the physician and it is possible that the child may be forced to be immunized.

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