Vaccine Baby
The Evolution of Vaccines: From Discovery to Modern Debate
The 18th century was accorded the discovery of the first vaccine. This monumental achievement was accomplished by the English physician, Edward Jenner, in 1798. He discovered a controlled method of intervention that triggered the immune system to use its own inner workings to better fight against deadly diseases. In practice, less proved to be more.
2025 "Vaccine Baby" Silver Proof Coin, by Chris Duane
This discovery started with Jenner’s power of observation. He recognized that milkmaids who contracted cowpox, which is a mild disease, seemed to be immune to the deadly, and dreaded, smallpox disease. While deliberating on the reason why, he came up with a theory.
Dr. Jenner put his theory into practice when he inoculated an 8-year old boy, James Phipps, with cowpox pus. Jenner scratched the pus from a sore on milkmaid Sarah Nelmes’ body and inserted it into two small cuts on the boy’s arm. The little boy got a mild case of cowpox but became immune to smallpox too. This discovery set the groundwork for the methodology required for men to discover more vaccines. It also began the development of the field of immunology.
Since Dr. Jenner’s discovery, millions of people have been saved from untold agony and death through the successful, and continuing, research to find more vaccines.
The 19th Century: A Surge of Scientific Breakthroughs
The 19th century saw the number of vaccines rise precipitously. These discoveries included French chemist Louis Pasteur's vaccine for anthrax in 1881 and rabies in 1885. Other scientists, who discovered new vaccines, included Spanish bacteriologist Jaime Ferran y Clua for cholera in 1885, German physiologist Emil von Behring for tetanus in 1890, English bacteriologist and immunologist Almroth Edward Wright and his associates German physician and bacteriologist Richard Pheiffer and German bacteriologist Wilhelm Kolle for typhoid fever in 1896. Although some vaccines were more easily developed, finding an effective vaccine for the terrifying bubonic plague proved to be a daunting task. In 1897, after working nearly around the clock for three months, Russian-French bacteriologist Waldemar Haffkine finally discovered a vaccine for the plague after heroically testing it on himself.
“Vaccine Baby” Silver Coin from Silver Shield
Until vaccines were discovered, hundreds of millions of deaths were attributed to these six terrifying diseases alone. But, the Black Death (bubonic plague) was the worst. And, although Haffkine had been recruited by the British government to find a vaccine for an outbreak of the Black Plague in Bombay India, it had already killed millions across the world at large. The disease killed between 75-200 million people from 1346-1352 alone, as it spread throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. It was thought to have traveled the trade routes and originated in Central Asia.
The 20th Century: Childhood Vaccines and Global Health Progress
The 20th century saw a continuing increase in the development of effective vaccines including many to combat childhood illnesses. These included vaccines for diphtheria; pertussis; measles; mumps; rubella; yellow fever; typhus; influenza; encephalitis; meningitis; chicken pox; hepatitis A and tuberculosis. The most important of this wave of new vaccines was Dr. Jonas Salk’s discovery of the polio vaccine in 1952.
The field of immunology has continued to expand throughout the 21st century with the development of vaccines for malaria, dengue fever; ebola, hand-foot & mouth disease, and more recently, COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Era: Speed, Science, and Public Skepticism
The speed at which the COVID-19 “vaccine” was developed and the fact that it is not truly a vaccine, but rather gene therapy, has caused a rash of unprecedented controversy between the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. Many people rightly questioned the draconian measures instituted during the COVID-19 “pandemic”. Many believed the “vaccine” was ineffective, as boosters were routinely required. Many refused to have their children vaccinated as it was shown that children were generally not in any danger of death from COVID-19.
Recent research in Germany showed that the average age of people who died from Covid was 85. To the average Joe on the street, who knows that the average life expectancy for a man in Germany is 80 years old, you couldn’t blame him for concluding that getting Covid actually extends your life expectancy by five years.
Much of the travail was centered on the fact that most new drugs take twelve years to get approvals from the FDA. The covid “vaccine” took just sixteen months. Needless to say, all of the controversy surrounding the lightning fast development of the Covid “vaccine” caused people to lose confidence in the honesty of Big Pharm. But, worse yet, the anxiety caused parents to mistrust the CDC recommendations as well. This is when people began to question the appropriateness of the current, and exceedingly long, list of childhood vaccines that start in infancy and extend through 18 years of age.
Then vs. Now: How Childhood Vaccine Schedules Have Expanded
In 1950, when the 74 million Baby Boomers were being born, they were vaccinated for just three diseases - diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). These were given in 5 doses.
By 2020, children are vaccinated for fourteen diseases - chicken pox, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis A and B, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal disease, pneumococcal disease, polio, and rotavirus. Twenty eight doses of the vaccines are given by the age of two. Annual flu shots can add to this list as well. COVID-19 was required in 2020, but has now been dropped from the list of childhood vaccines.
So, yes, it is certainly understandable that new parents, who lived through the recent hysteria produced by the Covid “pandemic”, have legitimate concerns about the extensive list of vaccines given to their kids. Primarily because they lack decades-long perspectives on the effectiveness of vaccines.
And, yes, parents should be cautious and always question their doctors if they have any worries about the side effects. Parents should express any concerns they might have about the long term effects of the childhood vaccines as well.
But, being overly "cautious" can also kill, as can be seen from the recent measles outbreak in Texas, where 481 unvaccinated children contracted measles, 56 were hospitalized and 2 children died from pulmonary failure.
Remember to be cautious, but not calvelier, when considering the value of vaccines for your children.
Other 2025 Silver Shield Proof Round releases
