From colonial trials to Covaxin: New book 'Vaccine Nation' traces India’s immunisation journey

New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI) A new book, "Vaccine Nation: How Immunization Shaped India", chronicles India’s transformation from a colonial testing ground in the 19th century to one of the world’s leading vaccine producers and immunisation success stories of the 21st.

Written by environmentalist and author Ameer Shahul and published by Pan Macmillan India, the book aims to offer a comprehensive account of India’s immunisation journey -- "a story of ambition, sacrifice and the making of a scientific nation".

From early struggles with cholera and plague to nationwide drives against polio, tuberculosis, and measles -- and from the establishment of the Serum Institute to the development of Covaxin and Covishield -- "Vaccine Nation" presents itself as a "saga of resilience, scientific ingenuity and defiance in the face of global pharma monopolies and resource-constrained public health systems".

"It took four more years of painstaking research – digging through dusty archives, tracking down old journals and newspapers, consulting out-of-print books, scouring through online resources and sitting with the vaccine legends who are still alive – to bring this story to life.

"... As you read, you will find that this is not just a story about vaccines – it is the story of a nation discovering its voice, asserting its autonomy and quietly rewriting the rules of global health," writes Shahul in the introduction of the book.

Beginning with Waldemar Haffkine’s pioneering work in 1893 -- creating the world's first vaccines for cholera and plague -- the book moves through the contributions of scientists like Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and Sahib Singh Sokhey, highlighting India’s scientific evolution post independence.

It also examines the challenges faced by India in maintaining a humanitarian approach to public health in a world where healthcare is increasingly privatised.

"'Vaccine Nation' is an essential reading for: students, researchers, public health professionals, policy makers, and anyone interested in India’s scientific history of and its place in vaccine development at a global level," said the publisher in a statement.

Shahul's debut book "Heavy Metal: How a Global Corporation Poisoned Kodaikanal" (2023), which chronicled one of India’s most egregious cases of industrial pollution, won the Green Literature Festival Book of the Year award in 2024.

"Vaccine Nation", priced at Rs 999, is currently available for sale across online and offline stores. PTI MG MAH MAH