Seth Berkley on the importance of vaccinating the world
Epidemiologist Seth Berkley talks to Jim Al-Khalili about his career trying to get vaccines to people around the world - and concerns about the current wave of vaccine scepticism.
Dr Seth Berkley is an epidemiologist and global health leader whose career has been shaped by one central problem: vaccines save lives, but only if people can actually get them.
His 40-year career has spanned the global, from helping to build Uganda’s first HIV surveillance system and founding the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; to leading Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for more than a decade – overseeing the immunisation of hundreds of millions of children worldwide. And when COVID-19 struck, Seth co-founded COVAX, the global initiative designed to stop wealthy nations monopolising vaccines.
In conversation with Professor Jim Al-Khalili, Seth discusses the highs and lows of his globe-trotting career - from saving millions of young lives through vaccine distribution, to setting his own shattered leg after a climbing accident in Namibia - and addresses the huge challenge of tackling vaccine scepticism.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili.
Produced by Lucy Taylor.
A BBC Studios production.
On radio
Broadcasts
- Next Tuesday09:00BBC Radio 4
- Wed 15 Apr 202621:00BBC Radio 4
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