Containing over 2,000 entries in total, The Ultimate Vaccine Timeline delves deep into the 220+ years of vaccine history, providing a highly visual and attractive format to explore this fascinating subject.
“Packed with factual information packaged such that perusing it is an enjoyable experience for everyone from the light dabbler to the intensely curious.”
—Zoey O’Toole
OK, so I may be biased considering I wrote it, but honestly I wished there had been a book like this during my research journey into vaccines—the fact that there wasn’t motivated me to produce it. And thanks to Skyhorse and Children’s Health Defense, who took a chance on an unknown library geek-turned-author, The Ultimate Vaccine Timeline is now available to order!
Including a foreword by esteemed Pierre Kory, MD, MPA and containing an extensive glossary and appendice, this book presents never before seen government documents, vaccine advertising and vintage product catalogues. The Ultimate Vaccine Timeline boasts an extensive collection of data spanning over centuries, providing an expanded perspective on the public health program of vaccination—marketed as immunization. From products to policies, from people to pharma, explore the complex landscape of human vaccination through this unique and detailed chronology.
A century ago, there were dozens of products marketed to prevent disease. Available on the market in the US and Europe, for both humans and animals—these products against infectious illnesses were sold in the form of preventative serum therapies and antitoxins (passive immunization) as well as vaccines (active immunization).
Several manufacturers of serums, antitoxins and vaccines at the time include Burroughs-Wellcome (UK), Parke-Davis (US), Pasteur Institute (FR), and Swiss Serum and Vaccination Institute in Switzerland. International shipping and worldwide distribution of vaccine products were ensured through these companies, reaching every continent by the early 1900s.
Several immunization products were available for the following human diseases:
acne
cholera
diphtheria
gas gangrene
hay fever
influenza
leprosy
plague
pneumococcus
rabies*
smallpox
tetanus
typhoid/paratyphoid ??
whooping cough / pertussis
yellow fever
*Rabies vaccine was also given to animals, mainly dogs. Other early vaccines for animals included chicken cholera, anthrax, foot and mouth (FMD) and from the late-1920s, rinderpest (also called cattle plague—closely related to measles and canine distemper).
Remember bacteriology was still in its infancy, there were no electron microscopes and only very rudimentary scientific knowledge and technology to identify antigens (bacteria and viruses) and ensure product purification. Contamination was common if not the rule, and even when glycerine was introduced in the late 1800s to address this issue, vaccine safety was still very sketchy. Despite this, a century ago, smallpox, diphtheria and even tetanus vaccines were mandatory for certain populations, notably army troops and babies.
With evolving legislation and higher purity quality controls, many early vaccine products gradually disappeared from the market, notably following the Cutter Incident and Thalidomide tragedy. However it wouldn’t be until the early-1970s that dozens of “useless” vaccines would finally be removed from the US market.
By the mid-1980s, litigation costs for vaccine injuries—mainly related to the triple diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) shot, containing aluminum and thimerosal—further reduced the number of vaccine makers in the US.
In 1984, DTP vaccine cost just U$0.11 per dose, but increased litigation expenses and insurance costs resulted in the 1986 price hike to U$11.40, leaving only Lederle and Connaught as manufacturers, threatening US supply.
The DTP shot was almost litigated into oblivion, but was saved thanks to the US Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, designed to compensate vaccine victims in a timely manner, and place the burden of liability on the government, aka the taxpayer. An excise tax to fund compensation was added to all commercialized vaccines, and since 1989 over U$5.3 billion has been paid out in the USA alone.
If you want to discover more fascinating facts on vaccination, its policies and manufacturers, order your copy of The Ultimate Vaccine Timeline, available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Apple Books (eBook only), or ask at your local book store. Available in the US and EU from May 13, 2025 and in the UK and Switzerland from July 3, 2025.
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