Biologists & Medicine · Medicine
Edward Jenner & the First Vaccine
From variolation to vaccination: Jenner's 1796 cowpox experiment on James Phipps, how immunity works, the spread of vaccination, and the WHO campaign that eradicated smallpox in 1980.
Step 1 of 5 · Overview30 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: Pasteur & germ theory. Next: Salk & polio; Karikó & mRNA. Sources: Stefan Riedel, 'Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox' (2005); Fenner et al., *Smallpox and Its Eradication* (WHO, 1988); TED-Ed.Next: 1. Before Jenner