The 1947 Smallpox Vaccination Campaign in New York City, Revisited
LETTERS The 1947 Smallpox Two days later, epidemiologic contrast, the Army and Navy had investigation indicated that all given almost 800,000 doses, and the Vaccination patients with diagnosed cases were city’s public health laboratories had Campaign in New related and that, in all likelihood, the made the remaining 400,000. York City, Revisited outbreak had been successfully halted During the shortage, the Times through tracing the movements of the noted, “hundreds of eager men, To the Editor: In 1947, millions of various patients and vaccinating any- women, and children queued up at New Yorkers received smallpox vacci- one who had contact with them, so- Bellevue Hospital at dawn, although nations, an accomplishment still appro- called “ring” vaccination (4). Despite vaccinations were not scheduled to priately held up as an example of pub- this halt of the outbreak, the city begin until 10 a.m. At some stations, lic health planning and mobilization. pushed forward. The campaign to “Be the crowds did not take kindly to the Although now mythological, a review sure, be safe, get vaccinated!” had news that the doctors had run out of of the events of April 1947, from proven successful. By city estimate, vaccine and the police had a little dif- copies of The New York Times (1–9), >600,000 persons had received vac- ficulty dispersing a crowd of several tells of a more recognizably human cine in the first week. hundred” outside one vaccine station response: pushing, jawing, deceit, Vaccine side effects, which domi- (5). shortages, surpluses, and perhaps a nate coverage of today’s vaccination On April 17, the situation bright- unusual way of counting vaccinees.
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