Vaccine: The Human Story 4. A Gift from Heaven
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Sep 15, 2021 A ship from Bengal carried a remarkable cargo: orphan children transporting the smallpox vaccine. The story highlights Edward Jenner’s groundbreaking work, connecting cowpox to smallpox immunity after careful observation. As the vaccine spread, ethical debates over using children as carriers arose, revealing tensions between humanitarian efforts and imperial motives. Local responses in India varied widely, showing both acceptance and resistance to new practices. The cultural framing of vaccination sparked early movements against it, laying the groundwork for modern debates on trust in authorities.
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Orphans Transporting Vaccine
- Fourteen five-year-old orphans were shipped from Bengal as live carriers of cowpox vaccine during a long sea voyage.
- The surgeon inoculated two children every week to preserve the vaccine chain for the trip to Fort Marlborough.
Jenner's Observational Method
- Edward Jenner's strength lay in careful observation and practical experimentation learned under John Hunter.
- His naturalist curiosity about cuckoos foreshadowed the empirical methods he used for vaccination.
Milkmaid To Phipps: The First Chain
- Jenner heard a milkmaid claim cowpox protected her from smallpox and traced cowpox from cows to milkmaids.
- He passed cowpox from a milker's pustule into a boy, then challenged him with smallpox, which produced no disease.
