#variolation — Public Fediverse posts

Who #Invented #vaccines A #History of #Variolation and #Innoculation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3pjG9Vv2og

#science #history

Origins of #inoculation #protovaccines in #china and #india

The origins of inoculation are not entirely clear, but it is believed that the practice of #variolation or the deliberate exposure to #smallpox was first developed in India or China…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407399/

#Linktopaper #openaccess

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1258/jrsm.2012.12k044

I've noticed a really weird thing cropping up amongst people who should know better: the confusion of #vaccination and #variolation. These are *not* the same thing, even though they're forms of #inoculation.

The key insight of vaccination was that it's possible to use weakened or dead microorganisms/viruses (or toxins) to provide resistance against diseases.

Vaccination was an order of magnitude safer than variolation. That's why #Jenner (who's plenty of issues) is celebrated.