Jabs

No one dies of diphtheria or polio in Britain any more. Since World War Two, we've virtually wiped out the diseases that used to kill tens of thousands of children every year. But rolling out a vaccine isn't always easy.

 

Ros Taylor talks to public health historian Gareth Millward and Stuart Blume, the author of Immunisation, about jabs and why some people refuse them.

Gareth Millward is an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense and the author of Vaccinating Britain: Mass vaccination and the public since the Second World War.

Stuart Blume is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Amsterdam and the author of Immunization: How Vaccines Became Controversial.

Diphtheria Immunisation and Big Whoop are on YouTube. Surprise Attack is at the Wellcome Collection. Polio Diagnosis and Management is at the BFI.

I also drew on the National Library of Medicine, the Science Museum and the Office for National Statistics.