Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner (1749 - 1823)John Raphael Smith Via Wikimedia [Public domain] “I hope that some day the practice of producing cowpox in human beings will spread over the world - when that day comes, there will be no more smallpox “(Edward Jenner Quotes). Luckily for us, the day that Edward Jenner dreamed about did eventually come 157 years after his death. Dr. Edward Jenner was an english scientist that lived from 1749, to 1823, in Berkeley, England. He studied medicine and created the first vaccine for smallpox. It is said that “Jenner laid the groundwork for immunology; his contributions to medical history went beyond just the smallpox vaccination. His work would be used to develop vaccinations against many diseases through the centuries after his death”(Edward Jenner). The vaccines that Jenner made were used to create vaccines that save an average of 42,000 people yearly in the US alone. Jenner’s Work was monumental leading up to smallpox’s inevitable eradication in 1980. Jenner is the reason nobody is dying of smallpox anymore. A hero must live with intention, pursue excellence, and be upfront and honest. Dr. Edward Jenner, otherwise known as the father of immunology, is a hero because of his perseverance, his need for excellence in his work, and his honesty towards those who doubted him.

Painting of JennerVia Flickr CC BY 1.0 [public domain]

Jenner is a hero because he dedicated his life to finding the cure for Smallpox. Jenner demonstrated his persistence in his 1796 book documenting some of his discoveries. ¨As the subject of the smallpox is so interwoven with that which is the more immediate object of my present concern, it must plead my excuse for so often introducing it. At present it must be considered as a distemper not well understood. The inquiry I have instituted into the nature of the cowpox will probably promote its more perfect investigation¨(Jenner, Edward). This shows that Jenner lives with intention because he wants to learn more, and teach what he finds about the disease. He doesn't want misguided information to spread. He wants more people to join him in investigating cowpow and said research to be more accurate and scientific. This itself is heroic because a hero has duties that they need to  fulfill, and they dedicate their time to completing those tasks, and that is exactly what Jenner did. Jenner would have never got as far as he did without hearing rumors of the dairymaids, and how cox-pox made them immune to smallpox.  ¨It was 1796 before he made the first step in the long process whereby smallpox, the scourge of mankind, would be totally eradicated. For many years, he had heard the tales that dairymaids were protected from smallpox naturally after having suffered from cowpox. Pondering this, Jenner concluded that cowpox not only protected against smallpox but also could be transmitted from one person to another as a deliberate mechanism of protection¨ (Riedel, Stefan).  Once Jenner learned of the rumors of the dairymaids he immediately conducted his own research on it, he came up with his own theories of how to make this mankind's advantage and thus began the first step to eradication. This is heroic because a hero does not waste time, and he didn't waste any time in testing his cowpox theory. He lived with a purpose once he was told about this rumor. He did not let go of the idea until it could be proved incorrect. Jenner's ambition in his field and haste to research the cox-pox virus makes him a hero.

Jenner giving a vaccinationC. Manigaud after E Hamman via Wikimedia CC BY-SA [public domain]

Jenner was a hero because of his need for perfection and ambition to learn more about smallpox. Jenner especially showed his need for perfection in his second book. “ALTHOUGH it has not been in my power to extend the inquiry into the causes and effects of the variolæ vaccinæ much beyond its original limits, yet, perceiving that it is beginning to excite a general spirit of investigation, I think it of importance, without delay, to communicate such facts as have since occurred, and to point out the fallacious sources from whence a disease imitative of the true variolæ vaccinæ might arise, with the view of preventing those who may inoculate from producing a spurious disease” (Jenner, Edward). This shows that Jenner pursues excellence because of his continuous work and research. According to the above section of his book. As soon as he realizes that the public was getting excited and curious about his research, he had to figure out more about the disease. And he also was striving to prevent a “Copy-Cat” disease from spreading that does not  prevent smallpox, but would end up causing a new, possibly deadly epidemic. It is heroic because a hero would not want people to be misguided, a hero would want everyone to know the truth. And a hero would try their hardest to give everyone the most accurate information. The evidence of his heroism displayed by him after the public found out cannot overshadow his need for excellence before his work became well known. “May 14, 1796; he scratched the arms of eight-year-old James Phipps with the lymph from a cowpox pustule on dairymaid Sarah Nelmes's hand. On July 1, he exposed James Phipps to fresh smallpox lymph and waited for a reaction. There was none, and Jenner's experiment initiated the scientific effort to control infectious diseases through deliberate vaccination (Smallpox). This shows that Jenner pursued excellence because of the detail of his experiments, he chose a person who had never come in contact with smallpox or cowpox. He chose a healthy young boy. That way outsiders would not contaminate the vaccination. He waited for the cox-pow sickness to completely go away, and then infected him with smallpox. And yet again, waited for a reaction, but it never came. Jenner was thorough with his first experiment to ensure accurate results. He is heroic by doing this because he did not want mistakes. The life of this young boy was on the line, and he did not want this young boy to be yet another victim of smallpox. And Luckily the young James Phipps survived and lived a full life, dying in 1853, at the age of 65. After his first successful inoculation of James Phipps, Jenner inoculated many other people described in his 1800 book A Continuation of Facts and Observations Relative to the Variolae Vaccinae, or Cow-Pox ¨Upwards of six thousand persons have now been inoculated with the virus of cow-pox, and the far greater part of them have since been inoculated with that of smallpox, and exposed to its infection in every rational way that could be devised, without effect.¨ (Jenner, Edward). He had inoculated 6000 people, with no smallpox deaths occurring afterwards he is making absolutely no mistakes with that large of a sample size, with a size that big it must mean something. He is also applying the infection in differing ways, he is giving the smallpox many ways to spread, and it isn't spreading! This is heroic because he is making ABSOLUTELY SURE that this works before he officially says that it is a cure for smallpox. Jenner's thoroughness while experimenting and need to be certain in his claims make him a hero.

Edward JennerVia Wikimedia CC BY 4.0 [public domain]

Finally, Edward Jenner is a hero because of his honesty to those who doubted him Many people, for good reasons, doubted that Jenner's work was valid. Jenner then replied with “ Some other instances have likewise been represented to me of the appearance of the disease, apparently marked with its characteristic symptoms, and yet that the patients have afterwards had the smallpox. On these cases I shall, for the present, suspend any particular remarks, but hope that the general observations I have to offer in the sequel will prove of sufficient weight to render the idea of their ever having had existence, but as cases of spurious cowpox, extremely doubtful” (Jenner, Edward). This shows that Jenner was upfront and honest because of his words. Some people denied that his solution worked. But he went and Hit them with the facts, that this second book will disprove their claims. And for the time being, he will ignore them. He is also saying that it would be unlikely for a person to randomly get cowpox. Which helps disprove the claims again. It is heroic to be honest because a hero would not want people to have false facts. A hero would want to have all of the public just as informed, so they can help in the hero’s mission. “Jenner went to London in search of volunteers for vaccination. However, after 3 months he had found none. In London, vaccination became popular through the activities of others, particularly the surgeon Henry Cline, to whom Jenner had given some of the inoculant”(Riedel, Stefan). This shows that he was upfront and honest, because he did not lie or be mysterious about what the experiment was for. He said upfront that he had to see if cowpox would prevent them from being infected with smallpox. From what else is said about him, he did not seem angry about nobody wanting to volunteer. He understood that it could be a hard thing to grasp, and that makes him heroic. Jenner’s honesty and understanding towards those who doubted him make him a hero.

The father of immunology is a big title and Jenner fulfilled that title because of his perseverance, his need for excellence in his work, and his honesty towards those who doubted him. Jenner continued working for his whole life, and his findings needed to be perfect, he was honest with the people that he helped save. That perseverance, excellence, and honesty is seen by the 42,000 people that he involuntarily saves yearly in the US. ” Jenner laid the foundations for the growth of understanding about the nature of infectious disease and the development of immunity during the 19th century. He began the long process which resulted in the successful eradication of the smallpox virus in 1980” (Edward Jenner).  He is an inspiration because he laid the foundation for centuries of scientific discoveries, he set the groundwork for later research about smallpox that ended up in its official eradication in 1980.  His research was used to make vaccines that you and many others have to take, like chickenpox, measles, and polio. He is reason that no cases of smallpox have been reported since 1978.  Even though Jenner died 200 years ago, the effects of his work are still seen today n the millions of people who have been saved because of his work.