I know that recommending a book I have not yet read should be avoided but think that this book might be a worthwhile exception. At a time when there are ideas ranging from the sensibly cautious to the outright idiotic about the Covid Vaccine, You Bet Your Life: From Blood Transfusions to Mass Vaccination, the Long and Risky History of Medical Innovation by Paul A Offit traverses the history of many medical advancements.
The book contains a really interesting section on the development of the polio vaccine, including a testing regime that would be totally unacceptable today and included the inventor testing it on his own family prior to it being released.