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efore beginning his political career, Robert Kennedy Jr, the current US secretary of health and human services, was a lawyer known for his stances on vaccination. He associated vaccines with a range of ailments, including autism – an accusation that has circulated for nearly 40 years and which he has amplified on a national scale. The appointment of such an unorthodox figure to head the health department is all the more striking given that the United States is the birthplace of modern vaccination; indeed, the core features of this method of prevention – with its emphasis on standardization, unrivaled simplicity of injection and cost-effectiveness – mirror the fundamental values that have shaped American life and underpinned its power.
The vaccination system as we know it, with numerous injections scheduled on a national calendar, would not exist without American Big Science. The unique alliance between the military, industries and universities gave rise to a series of innovations starting during World War II; 10 vaccines for military use were developed during the conflict.
Biologist Jonas Salk (1914-1995) subsequently developed a vaccine against polio as well as the concept of "vaccinology." On the industrial side, Maurice Hilleman (1919-2005), a specialist in the field, developed most of the childhood vaccines marketed by the multinational pharmaceutical company Merck. This scientific and technological dominance extended beyond laboratory disciplines: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta – also a product of the war – has trained physicians from around the world in the statistical study of infectious diseases since the 1970s.
