Individuals and Their Discoveries Are Not Enough to Bring Medical Progress Essay

Individuals and their discoveries are not enough on their own to bring medical progress. Explain how far this statement applies to Jenner and his work. Jenner’s discovery of the link between cowpox and smallpox was significant to the development of a vaccine for smallpox. However, it can be argued that Jenner and his discovery were not enough on their own to bring medical progress. The factors Scientific thinking, Government Communication and Changing attitudes played a major and important role to bring medical progress. One reason as to why the statement applies to Jenner and his work is because the Government worked in Jenner’s favour to bring medical progress. In 1802 and 1807, Parliament gave Edward Jenner  £30,000 to develop his work on vaccination. This clearly indicates that without the help of Parliament, Jenner’s work would not have shown as much signs of advancement; hence he would not have had the money to progress. In addition to this, fifty years later vaccination was made compulsory in Britain which led a dramatic drop in smallpox cases. This evidently shows that without the help of the Government, Jenner’s work would not have been as widely spread and used by the people as much; therefore the government did play a significant role his Edward Jenner’s development of Vaccinations. A different explanation as to why the statement is relevant to Jenner and his work is because of the communication. This factor is seen to have an impact on the medical progress of Jenner, is because without the spread of Jenner’s discoveries, people would not be aware of vaccinations. In 1798, Jenner published his own accounts of his discover, spreading the details of his methods worldwide. Consequently, that people could see his work but scientists in particular were able to see his work and they could learn from his work. This is evidence that by spreading his work worldwide, it brought medical progress; it was not just Edward Jenner alone brought medical progress to the development of a vaccine for smallpox. A different factor as to why the statement applies to Jenner and his work is because of the changing attitudes. Due to many people who had begun to think in a more scientific way, this meant that they were more open into accepting Jenner’s theory for Vaccinations. This implies that if people’s attitudes were similar to people who had supernatural beliefs, they would not have accepted the theory, therefore without the changing attitudes, Jenner’s work would not have caused a huge medical progression. Another reason which explains how the statement is relevant to Jenner and his work is because of the scientific thinking. Edward Jenner was able to use scientific method and experimentation in his research which is a clear indication his work can be considered trustworthy and it is likely to be accurate. Jenner also tested out his theory on a small boy which proved his theory to be correct but also on twenty-three other people. This shows that without the scientific methods and experiments, Jenner would not have reached the conclusion that his hypothesis was correct; therefore this is evidence for medical progress. Jenner’s scientific thinking is a key factor because without it, scientists would not have been able to see his work. Also his work would not have been as widely spread; people would not trust his work if it hadn’t been tested accurately, therefore people would not use his work. Another explanation as to why the statement applies to Jenner and his work is because of the individuals. Jenner himself had the insight to realise the link between cowpox and smallpox was important. If Jenner was not a determined individual and did not carry and publish his research, the theory of vaccination would most likely not exist today. Jenner had carried on, despite opposition and criticism which indicates with Jenner’s determination, he brought medical progress. In addition to this, Jenner also tested his theory of vaccination on twenty three people, including his six month old baby which shows he is a very dedicated individual. To conclude, there are many factors to support this statement: Government, Communication, Changing attitudes and Scientific thinking all bring medical progress, alongside the individuals and their discoveries. However, Scientific thinking caused the biggest impact on the medical progress because without whilst his methods and experiments, people would not trust his work, therefore people would not use his work.