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Task
The deadly disease smallpox was eradicated by vaccination. Discover how this was done and why it worked. Debate whether everyone should be required to get vaccinated to protect others.
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Sample Answer
How was smallpox wiped off the Earth?
Jenner’s cowpox discovery
The world’s first vaccine, in the late 1700s
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Mass vaccination campaigns
From 1965, country after country was covered
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Cases fall everywhere
Fewer and fewer countries report smallpox
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By 1979 smallpox was eradicated worldwide — the debate is whether vaccination should be compulsory
- A worldwide mass vaccination campaign protected people from smallpox.
- With most people immune, the virus had nowhere to spread, so it died out.
- For the debate: vaccines protect not just you but everyone around you.
- Others argue people should be free to choose — weigh both sides.
