NIVI Seminar Series: Prof. Paulina Polak and Prof.Em. Stuart Blume
Title: Understanding Vaccines in their Social Context
The November NIVI Seminar will be a little different from our usual scientific seminars. This time, we are delighted to welcome Paulina Polak (Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland) and Stuart Blume (University of Amsterdam), two sociologists and members of FoVaS (Forum for Vaccine Social Science).
Date: 24 November 2026
Time: 13:00 - 14:00
Place: Nielsine Nielsen Auditorium, Maersk Tower, Blegdamsvej 3b, 2200
Host: Rasmus Mortensen
If you are not able to join live:
Zoom-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/348355191245553?p=K62asCY41Su3fla1zw
Meeting ID: 348 355 191 245 553
Passcode: 67Zh2N7r
Abstract:
Like all medical technologies, vaccines are tools, shaped by the social contexts in which they are
developed and produced, and by assumptions regarding how and under what conditions they
will later be used. As markets for medical technologies became increasingly global, assumptions
which fitted one context did not fit another.
Vaccines don’t always work the same everywhere,
perhaps for reasons of biology (e.g. nutritional status), or of environmental or climatic conditions.
At the same time, for reasons spanning politics and culture, they are not always perceived or
accepted in the way scientists and public health officials assume. Social scientists contribute
through the study of these social contexts and assumptions.
Our studies provide countless examples of contextual variations with significant impact, from ideological rivalries and conflicts (e.g. polio or Covid vaccines) to anxieties surfacing in one society but not another (e.g. religious objections to HPV vaccination).
Vaccines are more than just products that require development, proofs of safety and efficacy, and effective distribution. Vaccination is an intervention that people who want the best for their children and themselves may accept on the advice of their healthcare provider, or question on the basis of reading or community discussions. Vaccines are widely defined in scientific discourse as the best protection against infectious diseases. However, their social perception has shifted towards increasing concern with risks and side effects: a shift magnified by recent adoption of vaccine scepticism as a strand of populist politics.
Drawing on sociological research, Paulina and Stuart will look at how knowledge and attitudes towards vaccines emerge at the intersection of expertise, everyday experiences, social relations, institutions, media and wider social events. They will explore the social construction and understanding of vaccines in different contexts and spaces, delving into the dynamics of vaccine acceptance and scepticism. They will also attempt to demonstrate why the public and researchers don’t always interpret vaccine-related concepts in the same way.