Overview

A look at the long history of vaccines, yesterday, today and still to come. Once largely an issue for parents and children, vaccines now occupy a central space in the very heart of our national conversation. We’ve all been forced to think about this subject closely for over two years. In the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine, thousands of deaths from a single virus once again swept the earth. Millions of Americans now suffer from the aftermath as they cope with the effects of long haul COVID. Life Before and After Vaccines moves the reader from the early history of vaccines into modern conversations about this subject. In the book, the author connects the dots between the modern anti-vax movement and previous anti-vax movements. She will help readers understand the history of vaccines and the equally long history of vaccination opposition. Life Before and After Vaccines also explores the many large and small ways that lack of access to vaccination has meant societal change, and includes updates on several of the topics in the author's previous work.

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9781538175439

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Reviews

In Herding Immunity, the public health writer, journalist, and advocate, Stacy Mintzer Herlihy tells the fascinating story of the history of vaccines in America. She reminds us how antivaccine activism is not new and even goes back to time of the founding colonies, but then takes us through a golden era when parents saw polio and other vaccines as miracle interventions. However, the last couple of decades have not always been kind to vaccines or the scientists who invented them, explaining in a straightforward way how vaccines became falsely linked to autism and other conditions, and the harassment that some of us in the scientific community have endured especially during the COVID pandemic. It is an excellent summary, an easy read, and one which I think will find a wide audience. --Peter Hotez, professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine The campaign to vaccinate against Covid-19 wasn't the first to encounter a tidal wave of disinformation, although outlets like X and Facebook have proven ideal media for stirring confusion and panic. This well-written, timely and useful book provides historical context, reminds us of what vaccines have achieved and points to their continual promise in our battles with disease. --Arthur Allen, author of Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver

Author Information

Stacy Mintzer Herlihy is a freelance writer and public health advocate based in New Jersey. Herlihy is a Shot@Life Champion and founder of New Jersey Parents For Vaccines. Herlihy’s books include Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012), which was a finalist for Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, Teens and Smoking: Your Questions Answered (2020), and Corporations That Changed the World: Disney (2022).

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