VaccinatedVaccinated
Profiles the pivotal work of vaccine developer Maurice Hilleman, from his three-a.m. creation of the mumps vaccine when his daughter was stricken to his determined efforts to convince Merck executives to aid his efforts to prevent hepatitis B. 50,000 first printing.
A biography of the late immunologist follows his tireless quest to eradicate disease, discussing the history of the field of immunology, current controversy about the link between vaccines and autism, and Hilleman's success in developing the first mumps vaccine.
Vaccines save millions of lives every year, and one man, Maurice Hilleman, was responsible for nine of the big fourteen. Paul Offit recounts his story and the story of vaccines
Maurice Hilleman discovered nine vaccines that practically every child gets, rendering formerly dread diseases—including often devastating ones such as mumps and rubella—practically forgotten. Paul A. Offit, a vaccine researcher himself, befriended Hilleman and, during the great man’s last months, interviewed him extensively about his life and career.
Offit makes an eloquent and compelling case for Hilleman’s importance, arguing that, like Jonas Salk, his name should be known to everyone. But Vaccinated is also enriched and enlivened by a look at vaccines in the context of modern medical science and history, ranging across the globe and throughout time to take in a fascinating cast of hundreds, providing a vital contribution to the continuing debate over the value of vaccines.
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- New York : Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2007.
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