Customer Reviews

Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

While the credentials of the authors are good, do not be misled. This is not the objective scientific book I was hoping for. It is no better than the worst of the reactionary anti-vaccine books. It makes statements about the absence of side-effects which are clearly untrue. After reading many scientific papers and the excellent IMMUNIZATION by Kassianos, I opted to get Hib and DPT. However, my biggest misgivings were not from the vaccine opponents but by the blatent falsehoods in WHAT EVERY PARENT SHOULD KNOW (e.g., Hib vaccines have no serious side-effects-- p61-- BALONEY-- seizures are possible -- Kassianos p. 80). The book is riddled with errors that exaggerate vaccine safety.I think my choice to get Hib and DPT was probably good, but this political piece masquerading as an objective book did nothing to help me in my decision. The medical literature is clear that the long-term side-effects of vaccines, if any, are unknown. The authors pretend this is not true, presumably to "protect" us. Why would I be reading up on this if I wanted to be protected from information? This book is a waste of paper.

The sole purpose of this book is to convince parents to vaccinate their babies when and how the medical establishment/drug industry wants them to.

My baby girl's pediatrician loaned me this book stating that "it presents both sides of the issues." She mistakenly left inside a form letter from the MERCK VACCINE DIVISION saying that they highly recommend the book for parents to "dispel all of the misinformation" out there. In my opinion, everyone should proceed with caution when a multi-billion dollar conglomerate gives their stamp of approval on a book.

Don't bother using this book as a reference. It doesn't even tell you about the ingredients (like mercury, formaldehyde and aluminum) contained in vaccines. It truly insulted my intelligence by being so one-sided. There are other books I've read (i.e. The Vaccine Guide, by Randall Neustaedter, OMD) that give both sides of the story.

I just finished reading "Vaccines: What Every Parent Should Know". It was as I suspected; the usual arguments and half truths and snide comments about parents who choose not to vaccinate. I guess what surprised me is they are *still* saying that DPT doesn't cause permanent brain damage or death and there is no such thing as a hot lot! They also say that no one has *ever* died from the hep B vaccine -- I know a man whose 5 week old daughter died within hours after the injection! Everything else is pretty standard partyline fare. They do a neat trick with the references. They don't use footnotes, they just put a list of books in the back that they got their info from. That way you don't know what they are quoting and what they are twisting/making up (unless you are educated in this area). Who's going to take thetime to hunt through 5 books to find a reference? The book will very easily mislead a lot of unsuspecting, trusting parents. However, a couple of statements are so ludicrous it seems like anyone with a brain will figure it out. But parents looking for reassurance that vaccination is safe/effective will find it here. It's a good book to have on hand just to know what a pediatrican is likely to hit you with when you go in for a check-up or to use in a debate with uneducated friends and family when they question your informed choice not to vaccinate (or selectively vaccinate.)

Dr. Offit is clearly pro-vaccine, but despite what his critics claim, he backs up his claims with hard science. This book encourages vaccination out of a sincere desire to to reduce death and disease, and vaccines are the only both safe and effect way of doing so. I have, and will continue to give my two year old daughter every vaccine recommended by her pediatrician. A decision that reading Dr. Offit's work helped to to come to. She has suffered absolutely no ill effects beyond the pain of the needle. I recommend to every new parent to vaccinate, and to the ones who are uncertain I recommend this book.

I was very disappointed in this book. I needed to make decisions that would affect my children's life and health. I thought this book was going to be objective and look at data from all angles. I thought important studies would be presented showing safety concerns and that an analysis would follow. Instead, this book was obviously written to convince parents to immunize under any circumstance. It was written to promote vaccines, not to provide parents with honest information.

I have read many books on this topic and have seen the studies. I even know children who are retarded from the vaccines. This book is dishonest, biased, and an imperfect tool for parents seeking to protect their loved ones.

This book does NOT provide an honest assessment of vaccine safety, and may cause harm to families seeking unbiased information. Many valid scientific studies showing the ineffective and harmful side of shots are not included. This book was written by a pediatrician, and should be renamed "What Every Pediatrician Wants Parents to Know About Vaccines." Dr. Viera Scheibner wrote an excellent book on vaccines, and it includes vaccine studies from all over the planet. The Neil Z. Miller books are very good, and Jaime Murphy wrote a good book for parents as well.

So many people are not aware of the 'why' of vaccination. It is hard to know where to turn for the real information and yet it is often in knowing the why that our fears are allayed. Dr. Offit sits on the cornerstone of so many of these discussions and demystifies in laypersons terms how vaccines are made and why the CDC schedule is as it is. As a curious and questioning Pediatrician and Mother, I highly recommend this book as the FIRST READ for those wondering about vaccine decisions for their children and a MUST READ before we promote our own opinion on vaccinations.

I'm a bit confused by most of the negative reviews here. Almost without exception, the negative reviewers claim to have read the book because they are trying to learn about vaccination and make an informed decision, but then cry foul and scream bias when what he says doesn't align with their apparently preformed ideas. Perhaps you all should take a close look at what he says and try to weigh it without your own personal bias before you bemoan the evils of this book. Perhaps YOUR bias is the issue, here.

In this book and in others, Offitt does an excellent job of countering the misinformation contained in the reviews above (e.g., DPT causes epilepsy and brain damage? No, actually, the majority of children in families compensated financially because of that belief have now been proven to have genetic abnormalities that caused their developmental deficits - abnormalities that were present from the womb and could not be associated with vaccines).

Yes, he is a vaccinologist and yes, he helped develop a vaccine and yes, he made money from it. So what? That actually gives him the credentials to speak intelligently about the topic. Who would you rather listen to than someone who has devoted their career to this path of study? A Playboy model? A Google-educated soccer mom? A pediatrician with no relevant vaccine specialization or epidemiological expertise who promotes an untested and unnecessary alternate vaccine schedule and, in doing so, makes millions fanning the fears of parents?

All of this said, this particular book is outdated and I would recommend a more recent one (which will actually seem even more biased to the already-decided reviewers because vaccines are increasing exonerated by the evidence, not increasingly implicated).

Go forth and vaccinate. Your child, my child, and all children benefit.

Book is not the most current information, edition of the book. Like a decade outdated ples. Still a great read for concerned parents. We went with the vaccines. Kid got fever, sick, rash, diarehea, every time, but we got through it, and now he's immune to life (except for death). A must read, but get current edition.

This book is good information from someone who actually knows what he is talking about, rather than from an actor or a Playboy model.