When I was looking through some old family records this morning, I found a smallpox vaccination certification dated June 21, 1947. It was given by Dr. Kenneth G. Reinheimer, who had an office in Weissport, PA. I was 4, and I don’t remember it, but I’m sure I cried.
We don’t need those any more because parents all over the globe had their kids vaccinated. Smallpox has been eradicated.
I also found my sister’s and my polio vaccination records. They were in 1956. I was 13, and I remember that. I didn’t cry. The vaccine was made by Eli Lilly & Co. Evidently there were three doses; at least that is what the certification says.
In any case, I didn’t get polio. I remember seeing those pictures of kids in iron lungs–the ones who didn’t die. That was scary.
I did get measles. We didn’t have a vaccine for measles in the 50s. Or mumps. Or whooping cough. The medicine has advanced. The parents have gotten dumber.
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