Vaccine

History

Two significant issues in the development of the smallpox vaccine and its administration had to be solved in order to make the success of the Eradication effort in the 1970’s possible. One of the key technological issues that had to be overcome was the fact that the liquid smallpox vaccine lost its potency in tropical climates. A freeze-drying technology developed in 1909 helped to improve this. However, it wasn’t until Collier further worked with this process that the vaccine became stable for quite some time at higher temperatures. (22:V6:7) The bifurcated needle was another significant development in the current vaccination procedure. It was invented by Dr. Benjamin A. Rubin of Wyeth Laboratories, patented in July 1965, and developed in conjunction with Reading Textile Machine Company. Bifurcation holds exactly 1 mg of water, slightly more vaccine because of increased viscosity. WHO procured about 50 million bifurcated needles between 1967 and 1976. (22:V6:14)

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