Immunization (Paperback)

Stuart Blume

ISBN 10: 178914504X / ISBN 13: 9781789145045

Published by Reaktion Books, London, 2021

About this Item

Paperback. Vaccines have helped mankind to tackle the dire threat of infectious disease for more than a hundred years. They have become key tools of public health and scientists are charged with developing them as quickly as possible to combat the emergence of new diseases such as Zika, SARS, and Ebola. But why are growing numbers of parents all over the world now questioning the wisdom of having their children vaccinated? Why have public-sector vaccine producers been sold off? And can we trust the multinational corporations that increasingly dominate vaccine development and production? In this controversial new book, Stuart Blume argues that the processes of globalisation and people's unsatisfied healthcare needs are eroding faith in the institutions producing and providing vaccines. He tells the history of immunization practices, from the work of early pioneers such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch to the establishment of the World Health Organization and the introduction of genetic engineering.Immunization exposes the limits of public health authorities while suggesting how they can restore our confidence. Public health experts and all those considering vaccinations should read this timely history. Immunization exposes the limits of public health authorities while suggesting how they can restore our confidence. Public health experts and all those considering vaccinations should read this timely history. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781789145045

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Immunization (Paperback)
• Publisher: Reaktion Books, London
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178914504X
• ISBN 13: 9781789145045
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

As the world pins its hope for the end of the coronavirus pandemic to the successful rollout of vaccines, this book offers a vital long view of such efforts—and our resistance to them.
 
At a time when vaccines are a vital tool in the fight against COVID-19 in all its various mutations, this hard-hitting book takes a longer historical perspective. It argues that globalization and cuts to healthcare have been eroding faith in the institutions producing and providing vaccines for more than thirty years. It tells the history of immunization from the work of early pioneers such as Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch through the eradication of smallpox in 1980, to the recent introduction of new kinds of genetically engineered vaccines. Immunization exposes the limits of public health authorities while suggesting how they can restore our confidence. Public health experts and all those considering vaccinations should read this timely history.

About the Author

Stuart Blume is professor emeritus of science and technology studies at the University of Amsterdam. Educated at the University of Oxford, he has previously worked at the University of Sussex, the London School of Economics, and in Whitehall.