Pro-vax
Supporting Vaccines through Activism, Petitions, and Trials
Summary
(Dr Jeremy Ward, Chargé de Recherche, INSERM)
«Vanderslott’s book, Pro-vax, sheds light on the important dimension of positive activism around vaccination, which is against the tide of a challenging environment that she also considers in her thoughtful, well-written book.»
(Professor Heidi Larson, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM)
«This book tackles a distinction we have taken for granted for too long: that between anti-vaccine and pro-vaccine attitudes. Building on her longstanding expertise in the history and politics of vaccination, Samantha Vanderslott provides a compelling account of pro-vaccine movements. By shifting our attention to those who express public support for vaccination, and away from those who do not, this book represents a unique intervention in both scholarly and political discourse. With its use of historical sources, images, and accessible language, the book will be invaluable for scholars of vaccination and vaccine advocates alike.»
(Assistant Professor Katharina T. Paul, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna)
Vaccination is both a social activity on a grand scale and an experience that is very personal and individual. Add to the mix the understanding of vaccination in culture, the media, and others around us in society, and attitudes to vaccination become complex. For a long time, the concentration has been on attitudes to vaccination by those who are in opposition (the «anti-vax»), neglecting the majority who are supportive. This book aims to reconsider vaccination as a phenomenon from the perspective of those who are «pro-vax», who actively support and vocally promote vaccines. Using contemporary and historical examples, the book explores public support of vaccination, focusing on civil society in action through activism, petitions, and trials.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Images
- List of Boxes
- List of Abbreviations
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Controlling infectious diseases
- Vaccine support
- Chapter 2 Tracing Concern with ‘Pro’ and ‘Anti’ Positions
- Scepticism and confidence
- Defining and addressing hesitancy
- Concentrating on anti-vaxxers
- Pro-vaccine actors and stories
- Chapter 3 Examples of Civil Society Support for Vaccination
- Meningitis – a new vaccine for a feared disease
- Measles and pertussis – pro-vaccine activism
- Typhoid – an overdue vaccine
- COVID-19 – developing vaccines during outbreaks
- Chapter 4 Fostering Public Support
- Online communication
- Community champions
- Chapter 5 Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Series index
PRO-VAX SUPPORTING VACCINES THROUGH ACTIVISM, PETITIONS, AND TRIALS
Samantha Vanderslott
Oxford - Berlin - Bruxelles - Chennai - Lausanne - New York
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
The German National Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Vanderslott, Samantha, 1985- author.
Title: Pro-vax : supporting vaccines through activism, petitions, and trials / Samantha Vanderslott.
Description: Oxford ; New York : Peter Lang, 2025. | Series: Medical humanities: criticism and creativity, 2504-5229 ; vol no. 4 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023056364 (print) | LCCN 2023056365 (ebook) | ISBN 9781800794702 (hardback) | ISBN 9781800794719 (ebook) | ISBN 9781800794726 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Vaccination--Public opinion. | Vaccines--Public opinion. | Vaccination--Social aspects. | Vaccines--Social aspects. | Health attitudes.
Classification: LCC RA638 .V36 2025 (print) | LCC RA638 (ebook) | DDC 615.3/72--dc23/eng/20231220
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023056364
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023056365
Cover image: Martin O'Neill.
Cover design by Peter Lang Group AG
ISSN 2504-5229
ISBN 978-1-80079-470-2 (print)
ISBN 978-1-80079-471-9 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-80079-472-6 (ePub)
DOI 10.3726/b19581
© 2025 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne
Published by Peter Lang Ltd, Oxford, United Kingdom info@peterlang.com - www.peterlang.com
Samantha Vanderslott has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work.
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
About the author
Samantha Vanderslott leads the Vaccines and Society Unit (VAS), hosted by the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford. She is a health sociologist and associate professor working on topics at the intersection of health and society. Her research currently focuses on public attitudes and decisions on vaccination, particularly in relation to pro-vaccination behaviours and vaccine acceptance.
About the book
‘With Pro-vax, Samantha Vanderslott opens a whole new avenue of research. This thought-provoking book will be a landmark for years to come as the research community moves towards a richer understanding of contemporary debates surrounding vaccination.’
– Dr Jeremy Ward, Chargé de Recherche, INSERM
‘Vanderslott’s book, Pro-vax, sheds light on the important dimension of positive activism around vaccination, which is against the tide of a challenging environment that she also considers in her thoughtful, well-written book.’
– Professor Heidi Larson, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, LSHTM
‘This book tackles a distinction we have taken for granted for too long: that between anti-vaccine and pro-vaccine attitudes. Building on her longstanding expertise in the history and politics of vaccination, Samantha Vanderslott provides a compelling account of pro-vaccine movements. By shifting our attention to those who express public support for vaccination, and away from those who do not, this book represents a unique intervention in both scholarly and political discourse. With its use of historical sources, images, and accessible language, the book will be invaluable for scholars of vaccination and vaccine advocates alike.’
– Assistant Professor Katharina T. Paul, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna
Vaccination is both a social activity on a grand scale and an experience that is very personal and individual. Add to the mix the understanding of vaccination in culture, the media, and others around us in society, and attitudes to vaccination become complex. For a long time, the concentration has been on attitudes to vaccination by those who are in opposition (the ‘anti-vax’), neglecting the majority who are supportive. This book aims to reconsider vaccination as a phenomenon from the perspective of those who are ‘pro-vax’, who actively support and vocally promote vaccines. Using contemporary and historical examples, the book explores public support of vaccination, focusing on civil society in action through activism, petitions, and trials.
This eBook can be cited
This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.
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Details
- Pages
- XXII, 186
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781800794719
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781800794726
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781800794733
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781800794702
- DOI
- 10.3726/b18362
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2025 (January)
- Keywords
- Pro-vax activism trials petitions vaccine support
- Published
- Oxford, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, New York, 2025. XXII, 186 pp., 38 fig. col., 7 fig. b/w.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG