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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Disclaimer: I am a former medical lab tech (with a BS in Biology) and as such have an educational and vocational background wherein I strongly support and accept the efficacy of immunologic responses evoked by vaccinations (and I am also a friend of the author on Facebook... I've only met him once, at a conference at which I purchased two of his books and had them autographed by him).
Dr. Offit has presented the history of anti-vaccination views and endeavors ever since Edward Jenner developed ('discovered') a way that he could impart resistance to smallpox by exposing persons to cowpox, and on to the current anti-vax mentality that vaccines (or components of the fluid that carries the immunological factor) can be implemented in aspects of children and adults other than those diseases that the vaccine is being used to prevent.
One aspect of the anti-vax movement that I learned anew (or re-learned if I'd forgotten) was how much of that movement in the past has been due to religious sentimentality, and how many children have been damaged by the refusal of their parents to accept the facts of the settled science of immunology and of the art of medicine.
I 'devoured' this book... start to finish in less than 24 hours!
Dr. Offit has presented the history of anti-vaccination views and endeavors ever since Edward Jenner developed ('discovered') a way that he could impart resistance to smallpox by exposing persons to cowpox, and on to the current anti-vax mentality that vaccines (or components of the fluid that carries the immunological factor) can be implemented in aspects of children and adults other than those diseases that the vaccine is being used to prevent.
One aspect of the anti-vax movement that I learned anew (or re-learned if I'd forgotten) was how much of that movement in the past has been due to religious sentimentality, and how many children have been damaged by the refusal of their parents to accept the facts of the settled science of immunology and of the art of medicine.
I 'devoured' this book... start to finish in less than 24 hours!
Nicely written. This helped me get up to date on the history of vaccination and the anti-vaccine movement. This account was also balanced and covered the rare cases in which harm did occur due to poorly manufactured vaccines. It is disturbing, however, to see how emotion has trumped reason for the majority of anti-vaccine proponents. How did celebrities with no training in medicine or science become experts in this area?
In 200 pages, Dr. Offit summarizes the history of the anti-vaccine movement and the current and future consequences of refusing these life-saving shots. Dr. Offit relies on statistics and medical research to make his arguments but he also illustrates them with stories of individuals whose children have suffered, and sometimes died, because they or their peers were not vaccinated.
Vaccination alone will not protect all children. Vaccination is a social compact; there will always be babies too young to receive vaccines, and some people's bodies will never develop the appropriate antibodies even with vaccination. Immunocompromised patients, such as those in chemotherapy, lose the immunity they developed from past vaccines.
One of the most heartbreaking sections of the book is a long list of cases in which parents were acquitted after withholding life-saving medical treatment from their children. Apparently, you can't leave your kid in the car while you run into the grocery store, but it is fine to let a diabetic child die because you don't believe in insulin treatment. Why is this relevant to vaccines? Offit believes that in light of these legal cases, the courts will never deny parents the right to refuse vaccines on religious or philosophical grounds. He sees two possible scenarios that will increase vaccination rates back to safe levels. One is for parents to talk to each other about the absolute necessity of vaccination. Science and stats don't convince anti-vaxxers but sometimes parental encouragement is successful.
The other scenario is to wait. Wait until vaccination rates drop even lower and the United States experiences an epidemic and hundreds or even thousands of children die from a preventable disease. Then, maybe, the anti-vaxxers will realize the value of immunization. Let's try not to get there.
Vaccination alone will not protect all children. Vaccination is a social compact; there will always be babies too young to receive vaccines, and some people's bodies will never develop the appropriate antibodies even with vaccination. Immunocompromised patients, such as those in chemotherapy, lose the immunity they developed from past vaccines.
One of the most heartbreaking sections of the book is a long list of cases in which parents were acquitted after withholding life-saving medical treatment from their children. Apparently, you can't leave your kid in the car while you run into the grocery store, but it is fine to let a diabetic child die because you don't believe in insulin treatment. Why is this relevant to vaccines? Offit believes that in light of these legal cases, the courts will never deny parents the right to refuse vaccines on religious or philosophical grounds. He sees two possible scenarios that will increase vaccination rates back to safe levels. One is for parents to talk to each other about the absolute necessity of vaccination. Science and stats don't convince anti-vaxxers but sometimes parental encouragement is successful.
The other scenario is to wait. Wait until vaccination rates drop even lower and the United States experiences an epidemic and hundreds or even thousands of children die from a preventable disease. Then, maybe, the anti-vaxxers will realize the value of immunization. Let's try not to get there.
Every parent needs to read this. Seriously. Because it's a comprehensive, CLEAR, FACTUAL history of vaccines and of the anti-vaccine movement. It's also an outstanding resource for new parents on why children are getting so many vaccines today and why spacing them out makes NO SENSE and the SCIENCE behind the safety of them. Outstanding.
This is something everyone should read. There is a lot of misinformation out there on a lot of issues. Vaccines is one of those things where there is a lot of misinformation & unnecessary fear. I found the book to be very straightforward & honest. It doesn't just go on about the successes of vaccines & their creations throughout history but also the failures & tragedies as well. I think that is something that should be required when trying to evaluate whether a source is honest or not. It goes into the history of the anti-vaccine movement, which goes back a couple hundred years & shows the similarities it has with the modern movement. It doesn't just show where their notions are flawed but also how they are wrong without bogging the reader down with too much jargon. The author explains how the misinformation is spread & where people are either outright lying or mistaken. It's a very important book to read because of the importance of everyone being protected from preventable diseases. It's something that affects the community as a whole & I think that is a great reason for everyone to gain some knowledge on the subject whether they are familiar with it & it's (unnecessary) baggage or not. It's informative & can only help one make good decisions in regards to our health, which is a very important aspect of our lives.
Best for: People looking for some solid details on how vaccines work and facts about what they do and don’t lead to.
In a nutshell: Infectious diseases expert provides an easy-to-read and detailed explanation of the history of anti-vaccine movements, from the 1800s to today.
Line that sticks with me: “Because anti-vaccine activists today define safe as free from side effects such as autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots — conditions that aren’t caused by vaccines — safer vaccines, using their definition, can never be made.”
Why I chose it: I purchased this at the public health conference I attended this week. Seemed appropriate.
Review: If you look at the reviews on Amazon, over half are five stars, while nearly 40% are 1 star. I think you can guess why.
Dr. Offit doesn’t put up with any bullshit on the topic of vaccines. He has the credentials to back up his statements: he teaches vaccinology and pediatrics and was involved in the creation of the rotavirus vaccine.
He’s also a talented writer - he does a great job of explaining the history of vaccines in an interesting and compelling way, as well as breaking down, point by point, the current anti-vaccine movement that started in the early 1980s. He talks about the vaccine court that was set up in the late 1980s, as well as some of the campaigns led by celebrities that have greatly harmed public health in general, and individual children and families specifically.
Some of the myths he takes on are ones I’ve heard even my most educated, pro-vaccine friends talk about (specifically, why should we give babies the Hepatitis B vaccine). He also discusses why Dr. Sears’s “alternative schedule” is both unnecessary and dangerous, given how it hasn’t been studied nearly as closely as the schedule recommended by the CDC.
I work in public health; specifically, emergency preparedness and response. In just the past year we’ve dealt with mumps outbreaks in elementary schools and colleges, among other issues. It is so frustrating to see so many people who should know better choose to ignore all of the science and just ‘go with their gut’ or worse - go with the manipulations of the large anti-vaccination organizations. My county is also home to one of the worst offenders when it comes to vaccine rates - Vashon Island - and it was embarrassing to read about that community as one of Dr. Offit’s examples.
Look, I get that there are millions of choices parents need to make about how they want to raise their children. But this choice to withhold medical care is not only harmful to their child, but harmful to the entire community. There are people who cannot get vaccines because they are immunocompromised or allergic to the ingredients or just too young, and those people die because of the choices these selfish parents make. I wish more people would get that.
In a nutshell: Infectious diseases expert provides an easy-to-read and detailed explanation of the history of anti-vaccine movements, from the 1800s to today.
Line that sticks with me: “Because anti-vaccine activists today define safe as free from side effects such as autism, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots — conditions that aren’t caused by vaccines — safer vaccines, using their definition, can never be made.”
Why I chose it: I purchased this at the public health conference I attended this week. Seemed appropriate.
Review: If you look at the reviews on Amazon, over half are five stars, while nearly 40% are 1 star. I think you can guess why.
Dr. Offit doesn’t put up with any bullshit on the topic of vaccines. He has the credentials to back up his statements: he teaches vaccinology and pediatrics and was involved in the creation of the rotavirus vaccine.
He’s also a talented writer - he does a great job of explaining the history of vaccines in an interesting and compelling way, as well as breaking down, point by point, the current anti-vaccine movement that started in the early 1980s. He talks about the vaccine court that was set up in the late 1980s, as well as some of the campaigns led by celebrities that have greatly harmed public health in general, and individual children and families specifically.
Some of the myths he takes on are ones I’ve heard even my most educated, pro-vaccine friends talk about (specifically, why should we give babies the Hepatitis B vaccine). He also discusses why Dr. Sears’s “alternative schedule” is both unnecessary and dangerous, given how it hasn’t been studied nearly as closely as the schedule recommended by the CDC.
I work in public health; specifically, emergency preparedness and response. In just the past year we’ve dealt with mumps outbreaks in elementary schools and colleges, among other issues. It is so frustrating to see so many people who should know better choose to ignore all of the science and just ‘go with their gut’ or worse - go with the manipulations of the large anti-vaccination organizations. My county is also home to one of the worst offenders when it comes to vaccine rates - Vashon Island - and it was embarrassing to read about that community as one of Dr. Offit’s examples.
Look, I get that there are millions of choices parents need to make about how they want to raise their children. But this choice to withhold medical care is not only harmful to their child, but harmful to the entire community. There are people who cannot get vaccines because they are immunocompromised or allergic to the ingredients or just too young, and those people die because of the choices these selfish parents make. I wish more people would get that.
I am giving it a three simply because it is very detailed and bogged down in details. However, it is very relevant and informative especially if you want to launch a reason and science filled discussion with an antivaccine person. So I strongly encourage anyone who finds themselves in arguments with the AV person to read this book so you will be more informed and have more ammo.
This is Offit going Full Brandolini on the National Vaccine Information Center, Jenny McCarthy, et al. I was familiar with most of it already, but if you're just getting around to finding out why the MMR does not cause autism and the sundry other lines of crazy-making nonsense that magical thinkers trot out to avoid providing adequate medical care for their children, this will be informative.
I thought this book would primarily detail the misinformation campaign of former doctor Andrew Wakefield, perhaps the most notorious anti-vaxxer. While he (deservedly) had a chapter, the majority of the book was new information to me. Definitely worth a read even if you think you know the depths anti-vaxxers will go to to spread their conspiracy theories.
If you were on the fence about vaccinating your kids, read this book! Offit skips around at times, but it's an easy, insightful read that clearly illustrates the individual and societal importance of vaccines.