vaccine

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Lives saved by childhood vaccinations, 1974–2024

Vaccines by the numbers

Smallpox vaccination

Vaccine timeline

Historical mass vaccination programs in the United States

Gloved hands draw liquid from a vial into a syringe, overlaid on a digitally colored microscopic image of a virus with round particles in clusters.

How did the polio vaccine change the world?

Human papillomavirus vaccine

Find out from Dr. Tina Tan of Northwestern University why adult vaccination against various types of diseases is important

Childhood vaccination

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vaccine summary

vaccine: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jul 19, 2025

News •

No link found between aluminum in vaccines and autism: Study • July 16, 2025, 6:46 AM ET (The Hill)

Study finds no link between aluminum in vaccines and autism, asthma • July 15, 2025, 2:48 AM ET (NBC)

Doctors and public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy change • July 7, 2025, 7:23 PM ET (AP)

Kennedy’s advisers back flu vaccination, but not shots with a rarely used preservative • June 26, 2025, 5:11 PM ET (AP)

Kennedy says US is pulling funding from global vaccine group Gavi • June 26, 2025, 12:08 PM ET (AP)

Photos and Videos

Lives saved by childhood vaccinations, 1974–2024

Smallpox vaccination

Historical mass vaccination programs in the United States

Human papillomavirus vaccine

Childhood vaccination

Gloved hands draw liquid from a vial into a syringe, overlaid on a digitally colored microscopic image of a virus with round particles in clusters.

How did the polio vaccine change the world?

Find out from Dr. Tina Tan of Northwestern University why adult vaccination against various types of diseases is important

Learn how vaccines enhance the human immune system to fight against harmful pathogens

Working toward a vaccine to stop nicotine addiction

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Topics

tetanus toxoid pneumococcal vaccine pertussis vaccine Cervarix subunit vaccine MR vaccine dengue vaccine rotavirus vaccine Jynneos hepatitis B vaccine variolation transfer factor toxoid antiserum inoculation antiseptic disinfectant

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Key People

Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur

French chemist and microbiologist

Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner

English surgeon

Frazer, Ian; Gardasil

Ian Frazer

Scottish-born Australian immunologist

Sir Almroth Edward Wright

British bacteriologist and immunologist

Theiler, Max

Max Theiler

American microbiologist

Émile Roux

Émile Roux

French bacteriologist

Fernand-Isidore Widal

French physician and bacteriologist

Thomas Francis, Jr.

American microbiologist

Maurice Hilleman

Maurice Hilleman

American microbiologist

Artificial lung ventilation monitor in the intensive care unit. Nurse with medical equipment. Ventilation of the lungs with oxygen. COVID-19 and coronavirus identification. Pandemic.

Is There a Doctor in the House? Firsts in Medicine Quiz