@MostlyTato@mstdn.social
@ApostateEnglishman@mastodon.world @broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca
Well, yes, people had been dying of smallpox for centuries too. Until they didn't anymore.
@ApostateEnglishman@mastodon.world
@MostlyTato@mstdn.social @broadwaybabyto@zeroes.ca If I remember rightly, cowpox, which is unpleasant but rarely fatal, confers immunity to smallpox, which often is. Which may be one reason (aside from pasteurization not having been invented yet) that folks were prepared to accept the risks posed by raw milk!
But I'm only speculating.