From cholera to COVID: a brief history of vaccines

COVID-19 vaccine bottles.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the most rapid vaccine development ever. Image: UNSPLASH/Braňo

Douglas Broom
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
Share:
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Infographic on the history of vaccines.
Despite vaccines, polio and tuberculosis have not been completely eradicated. Image: Statista
Tweet from WHO.
The WHO has called for the urgent resumption of immunizations across the world. Image: Twitter

Discover

How is the World Economic Forum helping to identify new technologies to fight COVID-19?

Painting of Edward Jenner.
Edward Jenner discovered a vaccine for smallpox. Image: Wellcome Trust

The last person to contract smallpox.
Ali Maow Maalin was the last person to contract smallpox. Image: Gavi

Have you read?
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Share:
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

About Us

Events

Media

Partners & Members

  • Join Us

Language Editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

© 2023 World Economic Forum