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Words: | Submitted: Fri Mar 31 2006
... 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 ...
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