Abstract

TUELLS, José  and  MARTIN, Susana María Ramírez. Francisco Xavier Balmis and the vaccine network, a pioneering example of vaccination implementation. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2011, vol.53, n.2, pp.172-177. ISSN 0036-3634.

The first organised global immunization campaign was undertaken in America and the Philippines by the 'Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine' (1803-1810). The work of Balmis as director of the Expedition and Salvany, his Assistant Director, not only included vaccinating children but also the development of an organised model for its application. The model was based on a network of centres created to protect and transport the vaccine fluids in good condition until they reached their vaccination sites and how to conduct a census of vaccinated people. In order to improve vaccine acceptability, local health workers were incorporated and the press was used to disseminate news. The strategy developed served as an antecedent that, two hundred years later, is unquestionably similar to health planning models such as Pineault and Daveluy, used in modern vaccination campaigns.

Keywords : vaccines; smallpox; health planning.

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