It wiped the disease out of natural occurrence in the entire world. Yep, that's a pretty lousy record. (/sarcasm)
You're right,it did. And most of us baby boomers had the vaccine administered, and I don't know anybody who had a reaction to it. I'm sure some did, but it must not have been widespread.
On the author's example of polio vaccine being pushed when it was still experimental, I do have a friend my age, whose parents refused on that basis, and she contracted polio and has been disabled ever since, and now deals with post polio syndrome.
That's the first thing that jumped out at me too.
While the article is accurate on a number of facts (i.e. when the disease becomes contagious), it should NOT be treated as authoritative.
Smallpox would have been wiped out completely across the planet forever had not the Federal government refused to destroy the remaining specimens used for military purposes. Which leads us to the question as to why smallpox even exists in weapon form since only a few nations had specimens from which to experiment with. My bet is that if a smallpox weapon exists, it originated from our own WMD programs. And if Saddam (or anyone else) has these types of weapons, we probably supplied him/them with them.
---max
Edward Jenner used an early smallpox vaccination on his infant son. The son grew up mentally retarded and died at age 21 of smallpox. The boy may have been vaccinated as many as 23 times. Jenner did not vaccinate his next child.
Early mass vaccination in England was followed shortly by the worst epidemic of the disease that England had yet seen. Some localities refused the vaccinations and treated the few cases that occurred by quarantine and antisepsis. More likely the vaccination only appeared to succeed by prematurely wiping out most of the susceptible individuals. Methods of quarantine, improved hygiene, and nutrition are more likely responsible for the eventual eradication of the smallpox virus in human populations.
"The CDC reported (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 30, 1999, 48:621-628) that improvements in sanitation, water quality, hygiene had been the most important factors in control of infectious diseases in the past century. Although vaccines were mentioned, they were not included among the major factors."
"Not only had poor sanitation and nutrition lain the foundation for disease, it was also compulsory smallpox vaccination campaigns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that played a major role in decimating the populations of Japan (48,000 deaths), England & Wales (44,840 deaths, after 97 percent of the population had been vaccinated), Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, India (3 million -- all vaccinated), Australia, Germany (124,000 deaths), Prussia (69,000 deaths -- all re-vaccinated), and the Philippines. The epidemics ended in cities where smallpox vaccinations were either discontinued or never begun, and also after sanitary reforms were instituted (most notably in Munich -- 1880, Leicester -- 1878, Barcelona -- 1804, Alicante -- 1827, India -- 1906, etc.)." -- Gary Krasner