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On 11 February 1832 the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the governor to supply citizens of the commonwealth with free doses of the smallpox vaccine and directions on how to use it. Smallpox vaccination was first developed by an English physician, Edward Jenner, and introduced in the United States in 1800 by Boston physician Benjamin Waterhouse. Waterhouse sent some of the vaccine to Thomas Jefferson, who in turn vaccinated his family and neighbors. Jefferson later wrote to Jenner, "Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome small pox has existed, and by you has been extirpated." Jefferson's prophecy seemed to come true in 1980 when the World Health Organization declared that "Smallpox eradication has been achieved throughout the world. There is no evidence that smallpox will return as an endemic disease." Recent world events, however, have raised concerns about the threat of smallpox as a potential biological weapon. In December 2002 the federal government began vaccinating members of the military to protect them from the once-eradicated virus. The program is part of the bioterrorism preparedness plan approved by Congress to innoculate health care workers, police officers, firefighters, and emergency personnel. Introduction |
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