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A review by luhos
Defeating the Ministers of Death: The Compelling Story of Vaccination, One of Medicine's Greatest Triumphs by David Isaacs
informative
medium-paced
what a compelling story on the history of vaccination, from the earliest techniques used by people centuries ago to modern and future vaccine development. this is well-researched, and Isaacs systematically documents our successes with vaccines in the past and the potential to continue this success into the future.
it's well written and easy to read, even for a non-scientific person. I appreciate how much Isaacs emphasises the human elements of our progress towards eradicating infectious disease and how he indirectly relays information about how science is done.
of course, he also recognises the important impact that the anti-vaccination movement has had on vaccine uptake. as Isaacs points out, so many diseases that are preventable by vaccine have not been observed by many people living in developed countries today (small pox, polio, measels...), maybe it's easy to overlook how devastating such diseases can be.
this was published in early 2019, just shy of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'd be fascinated to read an additional chapter by Isaacs on that, and the rapid and worldwide vaccination effort enacted.
it's well written and easy to read, even for a non-scientific person. I appreciate how much Isaacs emphasises the human elements of our progress towards eradicating infectious disease and how he indirectly relays information about how science is done.
of course, he also recognises the important impact that the anti-vaccination movement has had on vaccine uptake. as Isaacs points out, so many diseases that are preventable by vaccine have not been observed by many people living in developed countries today (small pox, polio, measels...), maybe it's easy to overlook how devastating such diseases can be.
this was published in early 2019, just shy of the COVID-19 pandemic, but I'd be fascinated to read an additional chapter by Isaacs on that, and the rapid and worldwide vaccination effort enacted.