The History of Vaccines

Image
Print, Smallpox Codex, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence
Annotation

This website explores the vaccination process from 900 CE to the present day. Tracing humanity's earliest known observations about disease transmission and immunity up to modern vaccination programs, the website includes articles, primary sources, and interactive activities.

Most attractive to educators will be the "Gallery" section. Browse more than 550 primary sources related to disease and vaccination, including pamphlets, photographs, artifacts, and more, as well as 90 videos. For easier browsing, filter the sources by topic, media type, or time period.

History teachers will also appreciate the "Activities" section. Seven interactive diagrams illustrate scientific and historical concepts, including herd immunity, how vaccinations work and how they are made, and changes in required vaccines over time. "Pioneer Breakthroughs," an interactive quiz, tests players' knowledge of vaccine-related discoveries, and "The Scientific Method" walks players through the steps in identifying the source of a disease outbreak and containing it. "Illsville," an online game, challenges players to keep the population of a town healthy from 1600 through the present day.

The site also includes an interactive timeline featuring images and short synopses of events from 900 CE to the present. View all of the events, or filter them by topic.

A database of essays in "Articles" covers more than 50 topics in the categories "Vaccine Science," "History and Society," "Vaccine Information," "Vaccine-preventable Diseases," and "Common Questions."

Note the four lesson plans in the "Educators" section. Spanish-language versions of site content are available as well.

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Science & Tech.

Body Politics: A History of Health Care

Description

According to Backstory:

"In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt became the first presidential candidate to stump for national health insurance. He lost that election, but a century later, the issue continues to divide Americans.

On this episode, the History Guys explore the origins of the health care debate, and try to explain how we wound up with a system so different from the European model. They hear from Jacob Hacker, author of the “public option” plan, about why lobbyists hold so much sway over health policy, and travel back to 1611 to visit colonial America’s first hospital. They also hear the story of how inoculation first came to the New World."

Backstory also has a page for more information on this topic.

Ellis Island: Public Health and the American Workforce, 1891–1924

Description

At this workshop, educators will be joined by immigration scholars and public health historians, visit related historic sites in New York City that vividly tell the story of immigration in the early part of the 20th century, and investigate Ellis Island's unrestored hospital buildings with an architectural historian to uncover their significance. This workshop will specifically address the impact of the 1891 immigration legislation mandating health as a criterion for admission to the U.S., precipitating construction of the U.S. Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island to screen and treat arriving immigrants.

Contact name
Frazier, Jan
Contact email
jfrazier@saveellisisland.org
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Save Ellis Island, Inc.
Phone number
973-347-8428
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $750 stipend
Course Credit
Although the workshop cannot arrange for individual professional development credit certifications, it will supply a certificate with equivalent professional development hours for each participant. Participants will be responsible for submitting the certificate to any certifying agency or organization. A New Jersey professional development provider number will be included for reference. This year, through partnership with the Bank Street College of Education, participants may receive one graduate credit for the workshop. There will be a fee and additional assignments to complete to receive this credit.
Duration
Five days
End Date
Website
http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html

Ellis Island: Public Health and the American Workforce, 1891–1924

Description

At this workshop, educators will be joined by immigration scholars and public health historians, visit related historic sites in New York City that vividly tell the story of immigration in the early part of the 20th century, and investigate Ellis Island's unrestored hospital buildings with an architectural historian to uncover their significance. This workshop will specifically address the impact of the 1891 immigration legislation mandating health as a criterion for admission to the U.S., precipitating construction of the U.S. Public Health Service hospital on Ellis Island to screen and treat arriving immigrants.

Contact name
Frazier, Jan
Contact email
jfrazier@saveellisisland.org
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Save Ellis Island, Inc.
Phone number
973-347-8428
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $750 stipend
Course Credit
Although the workshop cannot arrange for individual professional development credit certifications, it will supply a certificate with equivalent professional development hours for each participant. Participants will be responsible for submitting the certificate to any certifying agency or organization. A New Jersey professional development provider number will be included for reference. This year, through partnership with the Bank Street College of Education, participants may receive one graduate credit for the workshop. There will be a fee and additional assignments to complete to receive this credit.
Duration
Five days
End Date
Website
http://www.neh.gov/projects/landmarks-school.html
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