Smallpox Vaccination

The eradication of smallpox in the United States stems, in great part, from the extensive and routine use of smallpox vaccine in this country. In spite of the availability of an effective vaccine, smallpox continued to be a critical problem in the United States during the early part of the twentieth century. More than 530,000 cases of smallpox and 4790 deaths were reported during the decade 1920–1930. Early in 1924, two men and a boy, infected with smallpox in Winnipeg, Canada, traveled to Duluth, Minnesota, to Detroit, Michigan, and finally to New Britain, Connecticut. In the wake of these importations . . .