The History of Vaccines

Vaccines are one of the most important inventions in medical history. They help the body fight diseases before they make you sick. The first vaccine was created over 200 years ago. Since then, vaccines have saved hundreds of millions of lives around the world.

The First Vaccine

In 1796, an English doctor named Edward Jenner created the first vaccine. He noticed that milkmaids who caught cowpox did not get the deadly disease smallpox. He used cowpox material to protect people from smallpox. The word "vaccine" comes from "vacca," the Latin word for cow.

Modern Vaccines

Since Jenner's time, vaccines have been developed for many diseases. Polio, measles, and whooping cough can all be prevented with vaccines. Smallpox was completely wiped out in 1980 thanks to vaccination. Today, scientists can create new vaccines faster than ever before.

Fun Facts

• Smallpox is the only human disease that has been completely wiped out by vaccination.
• The word "vaccine" comes from the Latin word for cow because the first vaccine used cowpox.
• Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine in 1955 and gave it away for free.

Did You Know?

Jonas Salk refused to patent the polio vaccine, saying "Could you patent the sun?" because he wanted it available to everyone.