
State of Immunity
The Politics of Vaccination in Twentieth-Century America
James Colgrove(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 5. October 2006
Book
Hardback
349 pages
978-0-520-24749-9 (ISBN)
Description
This first comprehensive history of the social and political aspects of vaccination in the United States tells the story of how vaccination became a widely accepted public health measure over the course of the twentieth century. One hundred years ago, just a handful of vaccines existed, and only one, for smallpox, was widely used. Today more than two dozen vaccines are in use, fourteen of which are universally recommended for children. State of Immunity examines the strategies that health officials have used--ranging from advertising and public relations campaigns to laws requiring children to be immunized before they can attend school--to gain public acceptance of vaccines. Like any medical intervention, vaccination carries a small risk of adverse reactions. But unlike other procedures, it is performed on healthy people, most commonly children, and has been mandated by law. Vaccination thus poses unique ethical, political, and legal questions.
James Colgrove considers how individual liberty should be balanced against the need to protect the common welfare, how experts should act in the face of incomplete or inconsistent scientific information, and how the public should be involved in these decisions. A well-researched, intelligent, and balanced look at a timely topic, this book explores these issues through a vivid historical narrative that offers new insights into the past, present, and future of vaccination.
James Colgrove considers how individual liberty should be balanced against the need to protect the common welfare, how experts should act in the face of incomplete or inconsistent scientific information, and how the public should be involved in these decisions. A well-researched, intelligent, and balanced look at a timely topic, this book explores these issues through a vivid historical narrative that offers new insights into the past, present, and future of vaccination.
More details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
22 b&w illlustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
635 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-24749-9 (9780520247499)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
James Colgrove is Associate Research Scientist at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University.
Content
List of Illustrations Foreword by Daniel M. Fox Acknowledgments Introduction: Vaccination Politics and Law in American History 1. Between Persuasion and Compulsion: Vaccination at the Turn of the Twentieth Century 2. Science in a Democracy: Smallpox Vaccination in the Progressive Era and the 1920s 3. Diphtheria Immunization: The Power, and the Limits, of Persuasion 4. Hard Cores and Soft Spots: Selling the Polio Vaccine 5. Eradicationism and Its Discontents 6. Consent, Compulsion, and Compensation: Vaccination Programs in Crisis 7. Expansion and Backlash: Vaccination at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century Notes Archival Sources Index