History’s First Vaccine

How humanity overcame the deadly smallpox virus

Smallpox vaccination campaign poster circa 1965–1975, by the US Department of Health, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The first set of results from Pfizer’s late-stage coronavirus vaccine trials have just come in — it’s 95% effective and has no serious side effects. No successful vaccine in history has had a similar speed in progress to this one.

It’s even more amazing when you view how fast the COVID-19 vaccine is being created…