From Smallpox to COVID-19: Vaccine Inequity in History
- Katherine Zhang
- Dec 27, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 29, 2023
As important as vaccinations are to ensure community health, there are often inequities in their distribution, as has been magnified by recent pandemics and an unprecedented demand for vaccination. But before examining the modern-day issues of public health, we ought to examine the past.
1. Smallpox
To start at the very beginning, we need to focus on the smallpox vaccine--the first vaccine ever created. At first, a terrible disease, smallpox ravaged populations by up to 30%, leaving behind traces of its devastation in the form of scar tissue.
It was not until 1796 that Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine--quite literally! When observing his milkmaids, the scientist realized that those who had been infected by cowpox--what would later become known as a milder version of the fatal smallpox disease--seemed to be protected from smallpox. Thus, the first vaccine in the form of cowpox was born.
Yet the distribution of such a vaccine proved difficult. The vaccine itself was dried and mixed with water to prepare for injection, but long transportation oftentimes limited the vaccine’s effectiveness. Thus, the accessibility to working vaccines faced challenges since its inception.
2. HIV
Over time, there have been many other instances of vaccine inequity. For a more modern example, look no further than HIV.
In the mid-1990s, after a medicine was approved for distribution, companies priced the treatment at around $10,000 per person every year. Thus, millions of people living in the Global South could not afford the vital treatment. This dramatic inequity was only corrected when social pressure mobilized companies in other developing countries to manufacture the medicines and lower the treatment’s cost.
3. Ebola
Similarly, the ebola vaccination still faces challenges in its administration. Because so few people (40,000 cases since 1976) become infected, vaccination strategies adopted wherein only Ebola contacts and healthcare workers are vaccinated often fall short. With up to a billion people at risk and health systems without the infrastructure to vaccinate such a large capacity, inequities inevitably arise.
While vaccine inequities are clearly common patterns throughout history, as seen through the current pandemic, they are not unbeatable foes. Starting with organizations like Vaccines4Good and dissuading vaccine hesitancy, we may all inhabit a happier, healthier, more just planet.
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