Globally, there has been a move away from national public sector vaccine development over the past thirty years. Immunization and States: The Politics of Making Vaccines explores vaccine geopolitics, analysing why and how this move happened, before looking at the ramifications in the context of COVID-19.

This unique book uses eight country studies – looking at Croatia, India, Iran, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Sweden – to explore the role of public sector vaccine institutes, past and present. Raising questions about national sovereignty, the erosion of multilateralism, and geopolitics, it also contributes to debates around public interest and privatization in the health sector. An extended introduction sets the chapters in an international context, whilst the epilogue looks forward to the future of vaccine development and production.

This is an important book for students, scholars and practitioners with an interest in vaccine development from a range of fields, including public health, medicine, science and technology studies, history of medicine, politics, international relations and the sociology of health and illness.