Exciting Discovery About Vaccinations

What did Edward Jenner discover about vaccinations?

Edward Jenner discovered that some dairymaids who worked with cows had suffered lesions on their hands, and that these dairymaids were immune to the more severe smallpox.

Edward Jenner made a groundbreaking discovery about vaccinations when he found that dairymaids who had been exposed to cowpox were immune to smallpox. This revelation led to the development of the smallpox vaccine, which has since saved countless lives.

Jenner noticed that the dairymaids who had contracted cowpox, a less severe disease than smallpox, did not get infected with smallpox. This observation led him to develop the concept of vaccination, where exposure to a milder form of a disease can provide immunity to a more dangerous form.

The dairymaids' immunity to smallpox was a result of their exposure to cowpox. When their bodies fought off the cowpox virus, they developed immunity not only to cowpox but also to smallpox. This discovery paved the way for the use of vaccines to prevent a wide range of infectious diseases.