Mass Vaccination Campaigns, Then and Now

Published: Dec. 22, 2020, 8 p.m.

In so many ways, 2020 has been completely unprecedented. Multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and given FDA authorization in record times. And now, comes the job of getting those vaccines to Americans. And, it turns out, there is precedent for this kind of a mass inoculation campaign: the polio vaccine. On today’s episode, we’ll talk to a medical historian about the parallels and distinctions between that vaccination effort and the one we’re facing today. GUEST: Dr. Howard Markel, author and Univerity of Michigan medical historian If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.