National Immunization Month: From Smallpox to Saving Lives

Vaccinations for children are safer today than they've ever been, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO). In fact, most pediatricians agree that the benefits of immunizing young children far outweigh the minimal risks associated with vaccinations. To gain some perspective, let's look at a brief history of immunization.

The first records of inoculation date back to 8th century India and 10th century China. It is generally agreed that inoculation, or purposefully infecting a healthy organism with a weakened or dead virus to build immunity, was brought to the West in 1718 by Lady Mary Wortley Montague, who had observed the practice in Turkey. Upon returning to England, she had both her young children immunized.

It was English scientist Edward Jenner who developed the first smallpox vaccine in 1796 by scraping the arm of his gardener's 8 year-old son with infected material from a cowpox blister. Vaccines for diseases such as rabies, anthrax and typhoid followed in the 1800s, and in the 20th century alone, the polio, tetanus, measles, and hepatitis vaccines, among others, were introduced. Millions of lives have been saved as a result of vaccinations. In 2002 alone, according to WHO, 23 million deaths were prevented through immunizations.

Immunizations are safer now than ever, but some parents are still opting out of immunizing their children and infants. Organizations such as the National Network for Immunization Information urge parents to ensure that they are getting reliable information about vaccinations from credible sources. The California Immunization Coalition offers a comprehensive, physician-reviewed fact sheet that dispels current myths about vaccinations, and provides clear answers to questions frequently asked by parents.

Without immunizations, the diseases we have eradicated over the past centuries could easily return with devastating effects. 

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