“Vaccines” – I’ll be discussing the current definition and give a history of uses.

I’ll be drawing some info from the evil WHO

https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/history-of-vaccination/a-brief-history-of-vaccination

Historically, the Chinese practiced a method called variolation to provide immunity against smallpox, which sometimes involved putting the disease material under the skin. Although the more common practice was nasal insufflation (inhaling powdered scabs), methods that introduced the live virus directly into the skin were also developed. 

Variolation methods

Variolation was a precursor to modern vaccination and used material from a person with smallpox to inoculate a healthy one, with the hope of causing a mild, rather than fatal, infection. 

Inoculation by injection or scratchingThis method involved taking material from a smallpox pustule and inserting it into a small cut or series of scratches on the arm or leg.The practice was known to be in use in Africa, India, and the Middle East before it spread to Europe and the Americas. The practice may have arrived in China through trade routes.While nasal insufflation was a distinctly Chinese practice, inoculation via the skin was a method also practiced in other regions and may have been incorporated into Chinese medical traditions. 

Nasal insufflationOne of the earliest and most widespread Chinese methods of variolation involved using a long silver pipe to blow powdered smallpox scabs into a person’s nostril.For added safety, the scabs were dried and stored for a period to weaken the virus before use, and material was often selected from patients who had experienced a mild case of the disease.The practice was described in Chinese medical texts as early as 1549, and it became more common during the Ming and Qing dynasties. 

The decline of variolation

• Variolation was eventually replaced by modern vaccination, which was safer and did not carry the risk of spreading the contagious disease.





• British physician Edward Jenner developed the first smallpox vaccine in 1796 using cowpox matter, a discovery that was later introduced to China.





• By the 19th century, vaccination made variolation obsolete, and the practice was officially banned in many places. 

Variolation was a historical inoculation method for smallpox that involved introducing material from a smallpox sore into a healthy person’s body to induce a mild infection and confer immunity. While riskier than the later vaccine and still carrying a fatality rate (1-2%), it was much safer than natural smallpox infection, which had a 30% mortality rate. Variolation, or “inoculation,” was a precursor to vaccination and was practiced in various forms in Asia before spreading to Europe and the Americas

How it worked

• Source:Material was taken from the pus or scabs of a person with smallpox, often a mild case. 





• Method:The material was introduced to a healthy person in several ways, including:
  
  
  
  • Blowing dried scabs into the nose. 
  
  
  
  
  
  • Using a needle or lancet to scratch the material into a small cut on the skin. 
  
  
  
  





• Outcome:The person would typically develop a milder form of the disease and, upon recovery, would be immune to future smallpox infections. 

Risks and benefits

• Benefit:Variolation significantly reduced the risk of death compared to contracting smallpox naturally. The mortality rate was approximately 1-2% compared to the 30% rate of natural infection. 





• Risk:Variolation was not without risk. It could still be deadly and was a less reliable method than vaccination. 





• Disadvantage:It did not prevent the inoculated person from potentially spreading the disease. 

Historical context

• The practice is believed to have originated in Asia, with evidence dating back as far as 200 BCE. 





• It spread through Africa, India, and the Ottoman Empire before being introduced to Europe and the Americas. 





• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu helped popularize the practice in England in the early 18th century after observing it in Constantinople. 





• Variolation was used by historical figures like George Washington, who made it mandatory for his troops during the Revolutionary War. 





• Ultimately, variolation was replaced by the safer and more effective smallpox vaccine, developed by Edward Jenner in the late 18th century, which uses the milder cowpox virus

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https://historyofvaccines.org/blog/meaning-vaccine-same-it-was-1796-regardless-online-conspiracy-theories

“Before the change, the definition for “vaccination” read, “the act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce immunity to a specific disease.” Now, the word “immunity” has been switched to “protection.”

The term “vaccine” also got a makeover. The CDC’s definition changed from “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease” to the current “a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases.””

And, yes, the Merriam-Webster definition of vaccine has changed from what it had in 2013 to what is there now, in 2021. But the change was from “immunity” to “immune response.” Further reading of the definition of immunity defines it as what happens when an organism develops an immune response. It seems that the folks at Merriam-Webster did some editing:

• 2013 definition of VACCINE: “a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease”





• 2021 definition of VACCINE: “a preparation or immunotherapy that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against noninfectious substances, agents, or diseases”





• 2021 definition of IMMUNITY: “the quality or state of being immune; especially : a condition of being able to resist a particular disease especially through preventing development of a pathogenic microorganism or by counteracting the effects of its products

Old vs. new definitions

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Aspect

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Old Definition	New Definition (post-2021)
Focus	Producing “immunity” to a disease.	Stimulating the body’s “immune response” against a disease.
Interpretation	The wording could be mistakenly interpreted to mean that vaccines provide 100% protection against illness.	The wording is more transparent and scientifically accurate, clarifying that the goal is to create a robust defense system.
Technology	The definition generally reflected older technologies that used weakened or killed viruses.	The updated language encompasses a broader range of vaccine types, including newer mRNA and viral vector technologies, which provide genetic instructions to trigger an immune response.
Effectiveness	Implied that vaccination would completely prevent disease.	Clearly states the vaccine’s function is to train the immune system, acknowledging that an individual may still contract the illness but will be better protected from severe symptoms and complications.

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