A talk by historians Professor Gareth Williams and Paula Larsson on the history of anti-vaccination movements, from Jenner's smallpox vaccine to the COVID pandemic.
Thackray Museum of Medicine is hosting Adverse Reaction on Saturday 8 May 2027, a talk that traces the history of anti-vaccination movements. It's part of the museum's Thackray Insights series, which they describe as a heritage strand that invites audiences to explore the unheard stories of medicine. The session follows the backlash to vaccines from the very beginning, starting with the first reactions to Edward Jenner's discovery and running right through to the recent COVID pandemic.
Two historians lead the conversation. Professor Gareth Williams is a former Chair of the Jenner Trust and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Bristol, a Cambridge-trained physician who has published over 200 scientific papers and authored or edited more than 20 books, including Angel of Death: the story of smallpox. Paula Larsson is a DPhil historian at the University of Oxford's Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology, whose research covers vaccine policy and its impact on Indigenous peoples and immigrants; she also founded Uncomfortable Oxford.
Between them, they bring two different angles to the table: Williams from the medical and scientific side, and Larsson from the historical and social. The talk doesn't just stick to the well-known dates, but looks at how these movements have shifted over time, from the early days of the smallpox vaccine to the modern era. It's a long arc to cover in one sitting, and having both a physician and a historian on the panel should help bridge the gap between the science and the politics.
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Tickets are £14.95, and there are free tickets available for students studying A-Level or above. You'll find the museum at 141 Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7LN.
