The Japanese zodiac is a product of the old-world Asia. Influenced by the development of Buddhist traditions in and around the region, the zodiac animals were officially adopted and put to extensive application around 604 AD. The Japanese zodiac calendar is an integral part of Japanese culture and is based on the interpretations derived from the 12 animals of the zodiac which include the rat, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, the pig, and the cow. Each zodiac animal has a corresponding Sun Sign in Western Astrology. For example, the cow corresponds to Capricorn (December 22 to January 20)
But more interesting still is the etymology of the word ´cow´ and its relevance to us in 2021. The word ´vaccine´ was created by the British doctor and scientist Edward Jenner in 1796. The word comes from the Latin word vacca, meaning cow so the scientific name for cowpox is variola vaccina because vaccina means “of the cow.” Cowpox was a viral skin infection which mainly affected cows and rarely killed.
Jenner was the first to introduce a vaccine against the deadly smallpox virus which claimed 400,000 European lives annually in the eighteenth century. Smallpox was a life-threatening disease that caused pus-filled blisters to develop all over the body. Cowpox was used in the first scientific demonstration. It proved that giving a person one virus could protect against a related and more dangerous one.
He observed that milkmaids who previously had caught cowpox did not catch smallpox and showed that inoculated vaccinia (cowpox) protected against inoculated variola virus (smallpox). Jenner showed that people could become immune to smallpox by being vaccinated with cowpox. It was a lot safer because cowpox very seldom killed.
Jenner coined the word vaccine in 1796, using it to describe a technique of injecting people with cowpox to confer smallpox immunity. Cowpox served as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine emerged in the 19th century.
Edward Jenner is known to have saved more lives through his work than any other human in history.
So, we start 2021 with Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Oxford University to inoculate us against the deadly coronavirus. Let us hope that they follow the success of their pioneer Edward Jenner and that many lives will be saved. Let the year of the cow bring us back our optimism, energy, and joie de vivre.
To all you scientists who have worked tirelessly day and night to produce these vaccines we owe you our sincerest thanks.