April 2021 marks the three hundredth anniversary of what is widely celebrated as the first inoculation in Britain, inspired and publicised by aristocrat, writer and poet Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. However, this is just one of countless histories of a global practice recorded in China, India, Turkey and parts of Africa. In this online event Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Helen Esfandiary and Sylvia Valentine will explore the origins of inoculation and its subsequent introduction and popularisation in British society. The event will be hosted by Gareth Williams, author of Angel of Death: the story of smallpox.

Vaccination is one of the greatest successes of modern medicine, credited with saving between two and three million lives globally every year. In this online event Professor Helen Bedford, Imran Ahmed and Dr Tonia Thomas will discuss with Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, issues concerning the online dissemination of vaccine information to members of the public, as well as constructive solutions for being pro-vaccination in a digital world.

In this online event Professor Paul Fine and Professor David Heymann, who both participated in the World Health Organisation (WHO) smallpox eradication programme, will discuss with Professor Gareth Williams, author of Angel of Death: the Story of Smallpox, the steps towards eradication and the lessons we might learn from it today.