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A review by justjoel
On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss
2.0
Following the onset of COVID-19 and the hullabaloo regarding its vaccines, I added this book to my shelf, just to try to get the perspective of someone who was afraid to vaccinate their child. This book predates the most recent pandemic, but does provide fairly thorough research into past ones and how the concept and practice of vaccination came into being.
Honestly, I wish there had been more of the process of gradual understanding from the author's perspective as she did her research, but if you missed third grade science when the scientific method was explained, this will suffice as a decent reminder.
One phrase that stuck with me (I listened to the audiobook and this was relayed while going down the freeway at 70 MPH, so my verbiage will not be exact) was along the lines of illness and suspicion of illness being used as a fear of the "other," or an "us vs. them" scenario. The author relayed past pandemics which were given racist names by people in adjoining (and sometimes overseas) countries, and she said something like "the higher the level of fear experienced, the narrower one's point of view becomes," and all I could see was Trump insisting on saying, "The China virus...." like the fucking small-minded moron he is.
Overall, I don't think this book will change anyone's mind on the safety or efficacy of vaccines. If you believe that reading a Salon article and watching 2 YouTube videos by non-medical professionals makes you an expert, you're probably not going to have enough sense to check out this author's listed sources. If, however, you are on the fence and would like some historical context as well as fairly current information, then you might find this useful.
This was just okay for me, as I would have liked to have heard more about how the author's views changed and were shaped over time.
2 out of 5 stars.
Honestly, I wish there had been more of the process of gradual understanding from the author's perspective as she did her research, but if you missed third grade science when the scientific method was explained, this will suffice as a decent reminder.
One phrase that stuck with me (I listened to the audiobook and this was relayed while going down the freeway at 70 MPH, so my verbiage will not be exact) was along the lines of illness and suspicion of illness being used as a fear of the "other," or an "us vs. them" scenario. The author relayed past pandemics which were given racist names by people in adjoining (and sometimes overseas) countries, and she said something like "the higher the level of fear experienced, the narrower one's point of view becomes," and all I could see was Trump insisting on saying, "The China virus...." like the fucking small-minded moron he is.
Overall, I don't think this book will change anyone's mind on the safety or efficacy of vaccines. If you believe that reading a Salon article and watching 2 YouTube videos by non-medical professionals makes you an expert, you're probably not going to have enough sense to check out this author's listed sources. If, however, you are on the fence and would like some historical context as well as fairly current information, then you might find this useful.
This was just okay for me, as I would have liked to have heard more about how the author's views changed and were shaped over time.
2 out of 5 stars.