With vaccines in the news thanks to the mRNA breakthrough, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. They didn't like each other very much, but both men made immense contributions to the development of the germ theory. Medical science has developed well beyond the work of these two men, but the world is still in their debt.

Along the way, I am going to reference John Snow (not of GOT fame), Joseph Lister, Florence Nightingale, Ottoman medical practices, and Sub-Saharan variolation. 

War has cost the modern world millions of lives. Modern medicine has saved millions. It's important not to lose sight of that fact.

Source Links:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407399/

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/mapping-disease-john-snow-and-cholera/

https://theconversation.com/florence-nightingale-a-pioneer-of-hand-washing-and-hygiene-for-health-134270

https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2020/youraba-april-2020/law-guides-legal-approach-to-pandemic/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170303163208.htm#:~:text=Globally%2C%20the%20vaccines%20developed%20from,more%20than%2010%20million%20lives.