Vaccines: Are they worth a shot

26th March 2019.  
Andrea Grignolio, San Raffaele University, Milan and ITB-CNR, Rome

On the 26th of March 2019 Andrea Grignolio, of Università San Raffaele, will give a seminar entitled Vaccines: Are they worth a shot at 3.00 pm in Lecture Theatre 7 of Polo didattico di Ingegneria.  In his talk A Grignolio will highlight that vaccine controversies are as old as vaccines themselves and will discuss the factors that have widened and deepened current skepticism about vaccines in large sections of the western world.  Most importantly, A Grignolio will put forward his views on how to search for common ground and a common language between scientists and skeptics thus overcoming the current vaccine crisis. The poster of the lecture can be downloaded here. All College students are warmly invited to participate.

Abstract
The dangerous decline in vaccinations in many developed countries is at the heart of a lively debate that confirms how important the subject is today. Vaccinations are among mankind’s most important scientific discoveries, yet they continue to be viewed with suspicion by part of the public – the victims of disinformation campaigns, instrumentalization and unfounded fears. There is, however, also an evolutionary explanation for these irrational beliefs, and countering the growing social opposition will be extremely difficult without grasping it. This book, which sheds new light on the safety and importance of vaccinations, is intended both for parents and those readers who want to understand the role of vaccinations in contemporary society, where the ease of access to knowledge is both a great opportunity and a great responsibility. The chapters follow a historical progression and conclude with a discussion of the most recent cognitive theories on how to overcome this opposition to vaccinations.

Biography
Andrea Grignolio
, holds a PhD in History of Science and teaches History of Medicine and Bioethics at Vita-Salute S Raffaele University of Milan and at ITB-CNR. He studied at the Centre Cavaillès of École Normale Supérieure in Paris (2004), was a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University (2006-2007), visiting scholar at the Office for History of Science and Technology at UC Berkeley (2009), and ARD2020 Research Fellow at the University François-Rabelais of Tours, France (2016-17). He is the author of papers appeared on international journals and his book Vaccines: Are they Worth a Shot ? (Springer 2018), translated in 4 languages, reached the final selection of the two most important Italian prizes for Public awareness of science. Public understanding of science remains one of his favourite subjects. He writes for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Reference
[1] A Grignolio. Vaccines: Are they worth a shot. Springer Copernicus (2018)

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