Why we need vaccines: how humans beat infectious diseases

Part of the nonfiction Orca Timeline series, with photographs and illustrations throughout, this book examines the history, science, ethics and social issues related to infectious diseases and vaccines. Our best shot. Vaccination is one of humanity's most effective and greatest discoveries. Infections like the plague, smallpox and other deadly diseases have affected and killed people for thousands of years, but the invention of vaccines forever changed our relationship with these diseases. More recently the urgency of developing an effective vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic brought vaccination to the public's attention. Simmering tensions around vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and mistrust of science came to the forefront. Although an earlier form of protection against infectious diseases has been practiced for a long time, vaccines have only been around for 200 years. Why We Need Vaccines explores the history of vaccine discovery, the science of how vaccines work and the public-health achievements that vaccines have made possible. It also discusses vaccine mandates and inequality in access to vaccines on local and global scales. It challenges young readers to take responsibility for themselves, their families and their communities so we can all be part of the solution to take down infectious diseases. Key Selling Points - Covers STEM topics, including the history, biology, evolution and effects of viruses and vaccine development. - The book discusses misinformation, mental biases and how to think critically about information found online (or elsewhere). It challenges young readers to think about social and ethical responsibility when it comes to vaccination, and their responsibilities as individuals and members of a larger community. - COVID-19 and the race to develop a vaccine for it put the topic of vaccines, vaccine mandates and vaccine hesitancy in the spotlight. - The book includes career profiles of professionals in the field, such as a doctor, a nurse, a medical historian, an epidemiologist, a medical ethicist, an IT specialist and others. One profile is of two young people who volunteer with a nonprofit focused on training youth to become vaccine ambassadors in their schools and communities. - The author is a biologist and science writer, and her mother was an infectious diseases doctor. It's about time! From the past to the present and into the future, the Orca Timeline series explores how big ideas have shaped humanity. Discover what our collective history can tell us about the planet today and tomorrow.