The Great Vaccinator

Radiolab

WNYC Studios

History, Science, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Society & Culture

4.6 • 44.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Until now, the fastest vaccine ever made - for mumps - took four years. And while our current effort to develop a covid-19 vaccine involves thousands of people working around the clock, the mumps vaccine was developed almost exclusively by one person: Maurice Hilleman. Hilleman cranked out more than 40 other vaccines over the course of his career, including 8 of the 14 routinely given to children. He arguably saved more lives than any other single person. And through his work, Hilleman embodied the instincts, drive, and guts it takes to marshall the human body’s defenses against a disease. But through him we also see the struggle and the costs of these monumental scientific efforts. This episode was reported by Matt Kielty and Heather Radke, and produced by Matt Kielty. Support Radiolab by becoming a member today at Radiolab.org/donate.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we start, I just want to let you know there's a moment or two of strong language in the story.
0:08.0	Wait, you're listening.
0:09.1	Okay.
0:10.4	All right.
0:11.6	Okay.
0:13.0	All right.
0:14.4	You're listening to Radio Lab.
0:17.4	Radio Lab.
0:17.9	From W. N. Y.
0:19.9	C.
0:20.3	See? Yeah. Hey, I'm Chad, Ibn Rod. This is Radio Lab. And today, hello? Matthew Kilty. Hey, hey, hey. A story from our producer Matthew Kilty. Heather's also here. Hey, Radke. How's it going? Good. How are you doing? And reporter Heather Radke. Where do you guys want to start?
0:38.0	So from the New York Times, I'm Michael Babarro. This is the Daily.
0:45.0	Rewind back to the early days of the pandemic. Today. Mid-April.
0:50.3	I was listening to The Daily.
0:58.3	It was one of these episodes about the pandemic, and on the show they had Science reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr.
1:01.3	Don McNeil, Jr.
1:03.1	I remember in those early days of the pandemic, when Don McNeil came on to the Daily,
1:08.1	you sort of knew you were going to get some bad news and that he was
1:12.0	going to just sort of tell you how serious this thing was. Don't they call him like Doomsday
1:16.2	Dawn or something? I mean, I've never heard that, but I wouldn't, I'm not surprised because
1:22.5	like back in February. The portraits of the future that you have painted for us have been
1:26.7	strikingly accurate.
	...

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