Vaccines and Their Metaphors

Elena Semino is Distinguished Professor in Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, and Co-director of the ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science. She is co-author of following Routledge titles Metaphor, Cancer and the End of Life , Researching Language and Health and HPV Vaccination Discourse Online.

• TABLE OF CONTENTSChapter 1 - Why look at metaphors for vaccines?1.1 Training the immune system to fight: Conventional metaphors for immunity and vaccines1.2 Balance and music: Different metaphors, different framings1.3 Thwarting the training: Same metaphors, different arguments1.4 Snakes and lifebelts: Metaphors in pro- and anti-vaccination cartoons1.5 But do metaphors actually work?1.6 The rest of this book, and where I stand on vaccinesChapter 2 - Dragon slayers and flu heroes: Educational materials for children and adolescents2.1 Microbes with outer coats: Metaphors, children and education2.2 'A vaccine is like a memory': A children's book2.3 Anti-coronavirus knights: Educational videos about the COVID-19 and flu vaccines2.3 'The protection grows with you': Educational videos about the HPV vaccine2.4 ConclusionChapter 3 - 'They're flame retardants, not impenetrable firewalls': Science communication under pressure3.1 Snapchat messages and pressures of context3.2 Roast dinners and personalised cakes: Rapid vaccine development3.3 Raincoats and seat belts: Vaccines that may not prevent infection3.4 Covid school and book drafts: Multiple vaccine doses3.5 Warm water and hurricanes: Low vaccination rates3.6 ConclusionChapter 4 - 'Two lights appear and it's the train': UK Coronavirus press conferences4.1 Coronavirus press conferences4.2 Boris Johnson4.2.1 Fights, races and a heroic narrative for vaccination4.3 Jonathan Van-Tam4.3.1 Football metaphors and the role of vaccines at different points in the pandemic4.3.2 Train travel metaphors and vaccine development4.3.3 Other ad hoc metaphors for vaccines and COVID-19 variants4.4 ConclusionChapter 5 – From primroses to bubble wrap: Public health campaigns5.1 Public health campaigns about vaccinations5.2 Metaphors in Life versus Death public health messaging about vaccination5.3.1 Light versus dark: World immunization week 20205.3.2 Spring rebirth: Italy's 2020-2021 campaign for COVID-19 vaccination5.3 Variations on the Protection against Attack metaphor5.3.1 A protective shield: Pakistan's 2025 campaign for HPV vaccination5.3.2 From pugil sticks to bubble wrap: Seasonal vaccinations campaigns in the United Kingdom5.4 'Wild to mild': The US National Foundation for Infectious Diseases' campaign for flu vaccination5.5 ConclusionChapter 6 - 'Would you put your child in a car with no seatbelt ?': Pro- and anti-vaccination uses of the Seat belt metaphor in expert and lay debates6.1 Vaccines as seat belts6.2 The Seat belt metaphor in philosophical essays6.3 The Seat belt metaphor on a parenting forum6.3.1 Pro-vaccination uses of the Seat belt metaphor6.3.2 Anti-vaccination resistance against the Seat belt metaphor6.4 ConclusionChapter 7 - 'Assault on the mother': Anti-vaccination arguments in the 19th and 21st centuries7.1. 'It's like you're shooting up a horse'7.2 'The bloodhound of the childbearing woman': 19th century 'anti-vaccinators'7.2.1 Aggressive animals, poison and monsters7.2.2 A 'vaccination war'7.3 'Assault on the mother': 21st century anti-vaxxers7.3.1 Assault, pin cushions and a holocaust7.3.2 'A fight for children's health'7.4 ConclusionChapter 8 – Conclusion