'A History of Herd Immunity: Between Observation and Cultivation' AND 'The Long-term Context of Medical Debates: A History of Herd Immunity'
In person
In the aftermath of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 epidemiologists began appealing to “herd immunity” as an explanation for the rise and fall of epidemics. Originally invoked to explain experiments with mouse populations exposed to disease, by the late 1920s herd immunity was being spoken of as an observable quality of human communities in response to diseases such as dipthheria, scarlet fever and influenza. As the century proceeded and a growing array of vaccines enabled the ability to cultivate immunity against once everyday infections, however, herd immunity was increasingly equated by many with a strategy or outcome of mass vaccination. I argue that this long-standing tension between observing and cultivating immunity offers important insights into the controversy surrounding the relevance of the concept during the recent pandemic.
Date:
29 November 2024, 12:00
Venue:
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Headington OX3 7FY
Venue Details:
Kennedy Lecture Theatre
Speakers:
Dr David Robertson (University of Oxford),
Prof Erica Charters (University of Oxford)
Organising department:
Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS)
Organiser:
Doris Chan (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology)
Organiser contact email address:
doris.chan@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Prof Mark Coles (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology )
Part of:
Kennedy Institute Seminars
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Doris Chan
