Michael Gemar
@jalefkowit George Washington had his army vaccinated against smallpox.
Jun 20 at 2:19amWeb
Show threadVeeJun 20

@michaelgemar @jalefkowit I seem to recall even Washington hesitated to vaccinate his army, having to carefully chose when to do so. Because he knew the vaccine itself would incapacitate his troops. *But did so anyways, because he knew.

Edit to add above*

Show threadDavid PeningtonJun 20
@Vee @michaelgemar @jalefkowit
Washington did not vaccinate his troops. Vaccinia was not available. Edward Jenner demonstrated the benefits of cowpox inoculation in 1796. They "variolated" them - a deliberate arm infection of the full strength smallpox virus, which had a 1-2% death rate vs 30% for natural smallpox infections.
Modern vaccines typically have a 1 in a million or less serious adverse effect rate. The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine had under 1 in 100,000 blood clot rate & was withdrawn once alternatives were available in adequate quantities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variolation
Variolation - Wikipedia

Show threadVeeJun 20
@DavidPenington @michaelgemar @jalefkowit Thanks for clarifying. You are absolutely correct. I was playing fast and loose with what I recalled of it. 👍