hollydunndesign 's review for:

On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss

4.0

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I think this is a really important book. Eula Biss writes not as a medical professional, but as a mother who harbours many concerns about immunisation. In order to do what’s best for her child she sets out to discover the scientific facts, and debunks some myths along the way. None of the information she gives is new, it’s all out there to be found, but she highlights that it isn’t always easy to know what information is reliable. She also examines the social, political and economic arguments surrounding the issue. Particularly interesting was the idea of inoculation as social contract: that once you have a certain percentage of the population immunised then they will help to shield those who haven’t - often those of lower socioeconomic groups and the more medically vulnerable. Of course the more people who are immunised, the stronger that protective barrier is. Because this is about her journey as a parent I think it is really accessible, especially to other parents who have the same concerns. If there’s any book around at the moment that I think people need to read, it’s this one.