5. Resistance and Fear

Vaccine: The Human Story

In the final years of the 19th century, a vast crowd takes to the streets of the city of Leicester, in an outburst of anger at the medical and political establishment. In this episode, we look at the birth of the anti-vaccination movement. With the threat of smallpox absent from our lives, it's difficult to relate to those who resisted the vaccine in the past - but against the backdrop of Victorian class conflict and new sweeping public health measures, the revolutionary new technology became interlinked with concepts of subjugation and control in the minds of many of society's most downtrodden.