A Shot in the Arm by Don Brown (review)

In this timely entry in Brown's graphic novel series, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, an eighteenth-century British survivor of smallpox who was an early European proponent of inoculation, narrates this overview of the development of vaccination— reaching back in history to theories about the discovery of inoculation in Asia, and forward to efforts to manage COVID-19. Brown follows the smallpox story at some length, establishing how early attempts to prevent disease in the period before bacteria and viruses were even identified, much less understood, involved human experimentation, skepticism of public health measures, tragic missteps, and stunning triumphs. Big Names from science textbooks follow in a pack—Jenner, Leeuwenhoek, Koch, and Pasteur piecing together discoveries that would commute death sentences for victims of such scourges as anthrax and rabies. Finally, discussion of large-scale vaccination efforts against measles and polio sets the stage for the current COVID-19 pandemic, and the accelerated effort to bring it under control. Lady Mary opines through her face mask, "Scientists believe they can create a safe and effective vaccine within months and administer billions of disease-preventing doses to people around the world. … As of November 2020, the world holds its breath … and hopes." Of course, by the time this hits the shelves much more will likely be known, but Brown's readers will be ready to contextualize the rapid pace of contemporary research, the calculated risk and anticipated rewards for the first COVID-19 vaccine users, and the repeating theme of public welfare vs. individual rights, as hotly debated now as in the past. A timeline, biography of Montagu, notes, bibliography, an author's note on scientific evidence, and an index are included.