The only problem was the cost of the injection, only wealthy people could afford it, which meant only wealthy people became immune to smallpox. It became a money-making business for the medical world.
In 1796, a physician who spent a lot of time in the country discovered a different and more cheap way of vaccination. Edward Jenner was interested in the ‘myth’ that people who contracted cowpox, did not get smallpox. He discovered that farmers and milkmaids were not likely to catch smallpox. He tested out this theory by injecting patients with cowpox, rather than smallpox. He called this injection ‘vaccination’ (from the latin word ‘vaccina’ meaning cowpox, and ‘vacca’ meaning cow).
Doctors were wary about the idea, partly due to the fact it meant not earning the money made from the usual vaccination. The idea of injecting cowpox into humans was also looked down on, as it was thought of as repulsive and wrong.
A majority of the public were immediately against Jenner’s ideas, as they were new and didn’t seem as safe as the old vaccination idea. The doctors weren’t prepared to adapt to the idea, which meant the public followed suit.
People were also scared of the effects, they didn’t want to trust anything that came from a diseased cow. It was feared that the cowpox would produce actual cow features on the patients. A cartoon was published in 1802, showing people who had been vaccinated sprouting cow heads. It was the ignorance about medicine at the time that caused these ridiculous ideas. There was not enough communication to keep the public well informed about new ideas and the world around them.
Some Doctors were not pleased when the injection was made compulsory, it meant the poor would also be having the jab, and that meant more work and less money.
Doctors also found the procedure risky, it was possible to inject people with the wrong substance, and that could kill them. It was also common to give them too much or too little of the cowpox, which would result in illness. As there was no correct result set, this happened quite regularly. Which was another reason to worry the public about being inoculated.
I think there was so much opposition towards the vaccination, because there was not enough communication or education for the poorer public, who were the ones in need of the most medical care. Doctors refused to believe him until he had published his book, and there was official proof that his theory was correct. Otherwise the public would have been kept in the dark about the one thing that could save them all from smallpox. I think the idea of vaccination could have been found out a later date, and Jenner was just the one who discovered it at the right time. Otherwise the smallpox epidemic could have spread a lot wider and become a lot more dangerous to the world.
