The History of Immunization

A vaccine essentially attempts to mimic this response, tricking the immune system into producing antibodies. Edward Jenner inoculated a young English boy against smallpox using cowpox in 1796. The next big leap happened in 1885 when Louis Pasteur used a syringe to vaccinate a boy who had been bitten by a mad dog against rabies. From there, large-scale immunization started by World War I with dip theorya.