There were several vaccines for smallpox, later ones, unsurprisingly, better than the earlier efforts. So the 1844 epidemic was met with the best they had, but

There were several vaccines for smallpox, later ones, unsurprisingly, better than the earlier efforts. So the 1844 epidemic was met with the best they had, but it wasn't without problems. > In 1898 calf lymph became the standard method of vaccination for smallpox in the United Kingdom, when arm-to-arm vaccination was eventually banned https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine