The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice [Paperback]

Randall Neustaedter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; 2 Sub edition (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432151
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432156
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great overview, but a bit slanted and now out of date, March 12, 2002

By 

Dayna Baumeister (Helena, MT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice (Paperback)

I bought this book as my main text to help us decide on whether or not to get our child vaccinated. As it breaks down each vaccine individually, it was very helpful for us to make individual decisions. I still go back and refer to it frequently.

I understand why the author included his opinion at the end of each chapter- its a difficult choice to make, and even though the information is being presented to us, we still want someone else to make a recommendation so that we don't, in the end, feel like we made an irresponsible choice. Nonetheless, by presenting his opinion, it might suggest that he slanted his "case in points" to help the reader make the same choice. It's very, very subtle, and despite this, I still agree with him on most aspects.

My only problem with the book is that it contains outdated information (even at the time of publishing). So, if you want to know more about the issue in a clearly presented manner, this is a great book. But don't stop there. Keep looking for more current information (although its hard to find- there are two new books out on the subject (2001) that I just bought to find out how they compare). The issue of thimersol is slowly being addressed and some of the more controversial vaccines like DPT are being replaced systematically with DPaT. The polio vaccine has also undergone some changes.

Be an informed parent. Informed consent implies that you as a parent should know the pros and cons of vaccines. This book and others present both sides, as well as a bit on why you don't get both sides from the doctor's office.

In the end, the decision is yours and yours alone. In making our decision, we asked ourselves (among many other questions), would we feel worse if our child had permanent complications from the disease or from the vaccine? That may be how you ultimately decide.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive guide to making the vaccination decision!, September 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice (Paperback)

What? You didn't KNOW there was a vaccination decision?? Read this book and become informed about the pros AND CONS of vaccinating your child and yourself! In my opinion, this comprehensive, well-written, scintillatingly informative book is a must-have for parents and (especially) parents-to-be!

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most information about vaccines is in this book!, June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice (Paperback)

If you're in doubt about whether or not to vaccinate your child, this book is for you. I recommend it to any parent or parent-to-be who wants to know both sides of the vaccination issue.