Balmis’s technique was to infect two children every 10 days with the bovine version of smallpox and then take the serum from their pustules to infect two more children, and so on until they arrived at their destination with fresh serum with which to vaccinate people.

The children got sick but didn’t die and, although it seems barbaric, at the time it was considered quite normal.

Jesus christ, they're painting him as a heroic frontline healthcare worker.

The strategy adopted by Balmis was a cheap, ingenious and pioneering solution

It’s likely that nowadays the strategy of using children to transport the vaccine would be criticised on ethical grounds, but the impact and benefits of the expedition cannot be denied.

Manuel Álvarez, who curated the exhibition, described it as “a homage to all the health workers who have struggled against Covid-19”

When all you have is a hammer (colonybrain) everything looks like a nail (performing medical experiments on children).