Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-02-01
Written for the AdE,
Vaccination.

Tie Executive COMMITTEE oi lic
National Board Of Health has declared
smallpox to 10 epidemic In the United
States. This being the case II becomes
the duty of each and every one to IN
quirc what can | do 10 protect myself,
my family and the community from
this dread diseasef The reply II vac
cination, and IN this short article ]
propose to try aud answer these ques-
tons which are often asked the physic-
ian list. Does vaccination protect
from smallpox 2ud, How often
should vaccination be pcrlormcdS 3rd.
What are the dangers Of vaccinaiionY
lst. There Is no question In medical
science upon which all physician so
unanimously agree, Ms this, "Ihai
vaccination properly and recently per-
formed does prevent smallpox 1t
would seem rs though there must be
no doubt in the minds of the people on
that subject, and il there was no dang
er to any except the skcplics themselves
we might well rest in silence, and let
these skeptics run their own risk and
be convinced of their error by the
disease itself as many have been; but
such is not the ease, one such person
may expose very great many innocent
persons, and it is necessary again and
again to expose the fallacy of this rca'
sonng In l72l one half Of Boston was
sick Of smallpox. Such an epidemic
has never occurred anywhere since vac
cinaton has been introduced. Previous
TO vaccination the deaths from small
pox in Europe were over 5000 to each
million of inhabitants per year. Dur
ing 40 years subsequent the average
was less than 200 in each million.-
In one year LOO of all France died Of
smallpox. 1t is said that 2-3 of all
the people blind Of England were made
so from smallpox. A Surgeon of the
London smallpox hospital states that
during 80 years labor and observation
of above 10, 900 cases Of smallpox the
death rate in those who had never been
vaccinated was above 35 0-G, the vac
cinated died at the rate Of only
6 l-2 90.
End question. There is popular
idea that one vaccination protects for
all time. and another that it should be
repeated once in seven years as the
whole system changes in that time
Both ideas are false. Jcnner himself,
the discoverer of vaccination, believed
that it had the same protective power as
smallpox itself, no more, no less, and
as some persons have had the smallpox
more than onco, so could person who
had been vaccinated have it. The
best scientific authority of to-day say
that as a rule, that children of health
should be vaccinated during the first
few months of life, as the statistics of
England show that IA of all deaths OF
smallpox. are in children under one
year of age. In case of special danger
vaccination may be performed immedi-
ately after birth. Then vaccination
should be again performed after the age
of puberty, and after any severe sick
ness which changes the whole
physical life and constitution of the
individual. Others says also that a
person should be vaccinated once in
five years at least to guarantee the
best protection. The fact that per-
son has been repeatedly vaccinated at
some previous time without effect is no
proof of protection, for there are many
cases on record where such persons,
who have not been repeatedly vaccinat-
ed, but have also only been frequently
exposed to smallpox, without taking it,
have in old age taken the disease and
died.
3rd question. The dangers Of vac
cination have been greatly exaggerated,
and the fact that some one has had
smallpox after vaccination, or that
some disease has been developed which
was not supposed to exist in the sys-
TEN before, or some latent disease had
become active, has been heralded far
and wide, and from such data the
ignorant and inexperienced have argued
that the dangers are much greater than
the benefits. Such cases are the excep-
tons to the general law, and do not
suffice to found law. Whatever
danger existed from the old method of
using scabs or crusts, or in child to
child vaccination, can not he advanced
in any degree against the new method,
which is most generally used in this
country by progressive physicians, I. e.
the use of pure animal virus, propa-
GATED from vaccination of yOunp heifers