Tag: Royal Society.
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Smallpox inoculation: prelude to vaccination
Art BoylstonHeadington, Oxford, United Kingdom Inoculation for smallpox, now known as variolation, consisted of placing a small amount of fluid from a smallpox pustule into the skin. It was introduced into England and colonial Boston in 1721 following reports from Constantinople that the practice was safe and produced lifelong immunity to smallpox.1 Not surprisingly the…