Smallpox vaccine

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/smallpox-vaccine

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name of vaccine virus?Vaccinia virus
2. What is the year of eradication declaration?1980
3. How did Edward Jenner discover the vaccine?Edward Jenner saw that milkmaids who had cowpox were not sick from smallpox. He tested this by giving a boy a cowpox sore and later exposing him to smallpox, and the boy stayed healthy.
4. Why was the smallpox vaccine safer than variolation?Variolation used real smallpox material, which could still make people very sick or even kill them. The smallpox vaccine uses the weaker vaccinia virus, so it is much safer and still gives good protection.

Variolation: An early method of smallpox prevention involving inoculation with material from smallpox pustules.
Antigenic Similarity: The degree to which two different viruses share similar surface proteins that can be recognized by the immune system.
Immunological Memory: The ability of the immune system to 'remember' a pathogen after initial exposure, allowing for a faster and stronger response upon re-exposure.