当艾滋病在撒哈拉以南非洲肆虐了四分之一个世纪后，当地居民的平均寿命下降了整整20年。直到目前为止，人类还没有研制出艾滋病的相关疫苗……在这个时代，疫苗常常成为公众舆论挞伐的箭靶，上面的例子也许能提醒大家，在20世纪人类平均寿命的巨大增长中，疫苗起到了多么重大的作用。
疫苗的研制与改进是一部人类的史诗，也是科学与工业的传奇。人类一步步攻克了狂犬病、脊髓灰质炎、乙肝、黄热病……作者娓娓道来的笔法不仅引人入胜，还回答了关于疫苗制造、疫苗成分与艾滋病疫苗研制等相关问题。当然，书里也没有回避疫苗引起的争议，例如乙肝与麻疹疫苗被认为可能导致多发性硬化症与自闭症。然而事实当真如此吗？
When AIDS ravaged sub-Saharan Africa for a quarter of a century, the average life expectancy of its inhabitants fell by a full 20 years. Until now, mankind has not developed a vaccine related to AIDS... In an era when vaccines are often the target of public opinion, the example above may serve as a reminder of how important they were in the huge increase in human life expectancy in the 20th century. The development and improvement of vaccines is a human epic and a legend of science and industry. Step by step, humans have conquered rabies, polio, hepatitis B, yellow fever... The author's writing style is not only fascinating, but also answers questions about vaccine manufacturing, vaccine composition and AIDS vaccine development. Of course, the book does not shy away from the controversy caused by vaccines, such as hepatitis B and measles vaccines are thought to cause multiple sclerosis and autism. But is that really the case?
