CHAPTER 1: Vaccine History 101

Introduction: Immunizations

Immunizations have been getting a lot of attention lately and it seems to be the trending topic at dinner parties. In this blog we will try to debunk the myths and fallacies of immunizations and look at the scientific facts. It is important that as a population we join together and educate people on the truth and importance of vaccines. Although it is true that some vaccines have caused sickness and fatality in the pass, we have to remember that like all medical procedures there is always a risk. And the likelihood that something bad might happen, is so minimal it does not outweigh the good.
We will hopefully find answers to questions like; should I delay vaccination for my infant? Does a vaccine really cause autism? Is it mandatory to immunize my child? But before we delve deeper into debunking myths about vaccines, we must first learn a little history on vaccines see how they have developed over the century.

A little lecture on vaccine history

In the early 1900s humans were dying of infections and diseases. Over the course of 100 years, right after the introduction of vaccines into the world, we have been able to significantly reduce death caused by a preventable infection. 

The concept of a vaccine was introduced to the world by a man named Edward Jenner. Edward Jenner was the first to successfully use cow pox as a form of inoculation against small pox.  And his method was used in developing a vaccine that completely eradicated small pox from the world some 200 years later.  Here is a timeline of the history of vaccines.

1798	Edward Jenner published his work on the development of a vaccination that would protect against smallpox.

1879	Louis Pasteur created the first live attenuated bacterial vaccine (chicken cholera)

1885	Louis Pasteur first used rabies vaccine in humans.

1896	Cholera and typhoid vaccines were first developed.

1945	Inactivated influenza vaccine was first licensed in the U.S.

July 18, 1973

Measles and mumps virus vaccine, live (M-M-Vax by Merck) was licensed.

1981	The first hepatitis B viral vaccines, developed by Merck and also by the Pasteur Institute, were licensed. Both had independently developed plasma-based hepatitis B viral vaccines.

June 8, 2006

FDA licensed the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer (Gardasil by Merck)

http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all#.Ui_DbU2tK3Y.blogger
For a more detailed timeline of vaccine history please click the hyperlink above. 

So recapping a bit on the timeline and history of vaccines we notice that over the course of a century or so. We have come up with vaccines for a lot of infectious diseases.  And with the visual up top we see that for the most part, the majority of these diseases that were once the leading cause of death a century ago are no longer an issue. Drawing up a  conclusions on the visual above, it seems that after the introduction of vaccines our leading cause of diseases are no longer of an infectious origin.  Learning the truth about vaccines is very important, over the years we forget how horrible these diseases really are. Lets not get caught up in all the frenzy of "parents against vaccines" lets make educated decisions and protect ourselves from deadly diseases. 

Please watch a fun CDC psa video at bottom of page. Getting your vaccines could save you from the zombie apocalypse! 


Citations

Acquired from http://www.immunize.org/timeline/  on September 10, 2013. We thank the Immunization Action Coalition.

"The Vaccine Effect." Infographics & Data Visualization. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

First image:http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/VC/p-visuals/true  
Second image: http://www.vaclib.org/chapter/njexempt.htm
last image:http://visual.ly/vaccine-effect