Long before the word ‘vaccine’ existed, campaigners battled against the life-saving new technology, spewing lies which sound eerily familiar from today’s online anti-vaxxers. Historian Nigel Jones talks to presenter Jenny Longden about how the anti-vaccine movement began at almost the very moment a country doctor, Edward Jenner, noticed that milkmaids were immune to smallpox and tested a truly revolutionary idea - and how this offers lessons for us today.

<p>Long before the word &lsquo;vaccine&rsquo; existed, campaigners battled against the life-saving new technology, spewing lies which sound eerily familiar from today&rsquo;s online anti-vaxxers. Historian Nigel Jones talks to presenter Jenny Longden about how the anti-vaccine movement began at almost the very moment a country doctor, Edward Jenner, noticed that milkmaids were immune to smallpox and tested a truly revolutionary idea - and how this offers lessons for us today.</p>

Author and historian Guy Walters presents a Mail+ history podcast talking to top experts on stories from the past which still have an impact on our lives today

<p>Author and historian Guy Walters presents a Mail+ history podcast talking to top experts on stories from the past which still have an impact on our lives today</p>