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The impact that vaccines and immunizations have had on humanity has been overwhelmingly positive in protecting populations from -- and preventing -- disease outbreaks. Vaccination goes back hundreds of years to early efforts at preventing major smallpox outbreaks, based on the observation that milkmaids (who would encounter cow pox) rarely contracted the deadlier smallpox. Vaccines introduce a small amount of weakened or killed virus that the body can easily overcome, creating antibodies against future exposures to that pathogen.
However, a growing portion of the population has concerns based on suspicion of pharmaceutical company profit motives to mistrust of the ingredients of vaccines to outright conspiracy theories about microchips for tracking people in the vaccines. Some worry about the schedule and quantity of vaccines, especially those administered to young children (the CDC recommends approximately 18 vaccines).
There are many topics related to vaccines and immunization. Here are several examples to illustrate the range of topics to choose from:
The CDC has defined many useful terms that can assist students with research on vaccines and immunizations. Here are several helpful keywords to consider when starting your research:
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Vaccinology: Principles and Practice by
Covering all aspects of vaccine research and development in one volume, this authoritative resource takes a comprehensive and systematic approach to the science of vaccinology focusing not only on basic science, but also on the many stages required to commercialize and navigate the regulatory requirements for human application, both in the United States and Europe. Reviews in detail the process of designing a vaccine, from the initial stages of antigen discovery to human application Includes evaluation of vaccine efficacy and safety. Details clinical trial design, including regulatory requirements.
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The Vaccine Debate by
Providing accurate, accessible information on vaccines and the controversies that surround them, this book outlines the history of vaccine regulation and interactions between vaccines and the immune system, and thoughtfully considers each vaccine debate. The book documents the rise of the anti-vaccination movement, provides reasons for its prominence today, and explains the effects of vaccine refusal on public health. It also addresses concerns about the role of government in regulating vaccine production and administration, along with questions about vaccine safety.
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Vaccination in America: Medical Science and Children’s Welfare by
Altenbaugh examines an uneasy conundrum in the history of vaccination: even as vaccines greatly mitigate the harm that infectious disease causes children, the process of developing these vaccines put children at great risk as research subjects. Tapping links between bioethics, education, public health, and medical research, this book raises fundamental questions about child welfare and the tension between private and public responsibility that still fuel anxieties around vaccination today.
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Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science by
This book explores vaccine hesitancy and refusal among parents in the industrialized North. Although biomedical, public health, and popular science literature has focused on a scientifically ignorant public, the real problem, Goldenberg argues, lies not in misunderstanding, but in mistrust. Public confidence in scientific institutions and government bodies has been shaken by fraud, research scandals, and misconduct. Her book reveals how vaccine studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, compelling rhetorics from the anti-vaccine movement, and the spread of populist knowledge on social media have all contributed to a public mistrust of the scientific consensus. Importantly, it also emphasizes how historical and current discrimination in health care against marginalized communities continues to shape public perception of institutional trustworthiness.
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First published: Summer 2020
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