Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2021 May 25

= May 25 =

Vaccines in 1924
What vaccines would have been "popular" in Canada in 1924? We have an article on the timeline of human vaccines, but that's the date of development. I found an old postcard dated April 20, 1924, and the young lady writing speaks of going to get vaccinated before going on holiday. Obviously it could be anything near the top of the article I linked, but I'm wondering if there were any specific programs pushing a particular one? I've no idea what the vacation plan was, so that might also play a part. Any educated guesses? Matt Deres (talk) 03:40, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Does she mention where she was traveling to? I'm thinking of the time my wife and I reserved on a cruise which we were told was to make a stop in Venezuela.  We learned that hepatitis existed in that country at that time, although primarily in inland areas rather than ports, but we got that vaccination to be safe... only find learn that in fact there was no such stop on this particular voyage anyway.  (Oh well, these things happen.)  But without knowing the destination, my guess would be a smallpox vaccination.  I've formed the impression that a lot of countries would insist on that around then, but I don't have a source to cite. --184.145.50.201 (talk) 04:35, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Our relevant articles are Carte Jaune and Vaccination requirements for international travel. However, it's not clear if a smallpox vaccination was required prior to 1926. HTH, LongHairedFop (talk) 08:38, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * History of Smallpox has a timeline which shows a 1925 smallpox outbreak in Milwakee, so it wasn't just travellers who needed to beware. From the All Timelines Overview on the same site, this shows that smallpox vaccination was required in US schools in 1922. Polio, TB and diphtheria vaccines were still in the future. Alansplodge (talk) 09:46, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * There's no mention of where they're going. I've uploaded the postcard here, but there's not a lot to see (the front was just an Easter blessing, not a destination). The sender and recipient were both in Canada, so the locale may well have been the exotic oasis of Toronto. Matt Deres (talk) 14:00, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Depending on the destination, vaccination against yellow fever could have been required, which is not an issue of its "popularity" in the country from where a journey was undertaken. Vaccination against cholera, although not required, is also recommended for many destinations. --Lambiam 10:07, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Getting a yellow fever vaccine in 1924 would have been tricky. Matt Deres (talk) 14:03, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Unless I'm reading this incorrectly, Vaccines: Past, Present, and Future suggests that smallpox was the only available vaccine available in the 1920s. Antitoxins for tetanus and diphtheria had also been developed, but its not clear to me that these were used in a precautionary way. Maybe somebody more knowledgeable could comment. Alansplodge (talk) 17:37, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * That's a great resource, but not really laid out for skimming/quick reading. It seems like the diphtheria vaccine was developed in 1913, which contradicts our article, but it does say that diphtheria toxoid was developed in the early 1920s, which I guess is what our article is referring to. I don't know the details well enough to comment. At this point, I'm kind of assuming the shot was for smallpox, which would obviously have had a long history by then. Matt Deres (talk) 18:21, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * The card doesn't say anything about traveling. It says "I have to be vaccinated during the holidays but we are trying to do some shopping before".  And note that the date shown is Easter Sunday.  Since the writer speaks of "studying", she is probably a student and so "the holidays" would refer to a break in the school year: so I think the meaning is that she's been plannning to take advantage of a day without school (during the Easter holidays) to get to a doctor for vaccination, and we can't tell why she needed to get one.  But the card was postmarked in Sarnia, not far from Windsor, Ontario, which had a smallpox outbreak in 1924, so I'd guess that she got the shot for that reason. --184.145.50.201 (talk) 22:35, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Very true - thank you. My reading of the passage was coloured by the other correspondence - the family obviously liked to travel, at least locally. And thank you for the details about the outbreak. Matt Deres (talk) 23:49, 25 May 2021 (UTC)

I think we can consider the case closed - thank you everyone! Matt Deres (talk) 00:05, 26 May 2021 (UTC)