Vaccines as Social and Political Phenomena?

The study of vaccine hesitancy has dominated the social analysis of vaccines and the relationship between society and vaccines. Unfortunately, less sustained analytical attention has been given to many of the other social and political dimensions and consequences of vaccines. In this chapter, we set out the benefits of a wider focus within the social scientific analysis of vaccines. We argue that by looking across the composition and operation of what Kirkland has called the immunisation social order, we can reveal the social and political nature of vaccines themselves and the societal consequences or impacts that become visible during or after their development and use.