Vaccinating Your Child: Questions and Answers for the Concerned Parent (Paperback)

by Sharon G. Humiston (Author), Cynthia Good (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Finally, a personalized book for both parents and children's advocates that explains in plain English the effects of vaccine preventable diseases while responding to issues and concerns about immunizations." -- Amy A. Pisani, MS, Executive Director of Every Child By Two - The Carter/Bumpers Campaign for Early Immunizations

Product Description
An experienced doctor and a well-known child advocate address the issues, parental concerns, medical benefits, and possible risks associated with childhood immunizations.

All parents must address the question of vaccinating their children. Fifty years ago the vaccine question asked by parents was simply, When? But with the development of new vaccines, the dramatic changes in immunization schedules, and disturbing reports of the risks and possible side effects associated with certain vaccines, parents have more questions and greater concerns. Today parents are asking: Will this vaccine be safe for my child? What are the side effects? Is this the best way to safeguard my child's health and the health of our community? Does my child need to be immunized from a disease that barely exists anymore?

VACCINATING YOUR CHILD addresses the medical, ethical, and legal issues parents need to know about so they can make informed decisions about individual vaccinations. The authors provide the most up-to-date information available from the medical community about vaccinations and the benefits and risks of each vaccination for the individual and the community. They also address the special concerns associated with specific vaccinations, including the oral polio vaccine and the controversial rotavirus vaccine that has now been removed from the market. Finally, the authors also review the vaccines that children may need as they grow up and the vaccines that all family members may need as they travel around and outside of the United States.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561451770
• ISBN-13: 978-1561451777
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,492,345 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No "Good Science" Here, Mostly Opinion, August 5, 2001

By	Freedom 2 Think (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Humiston and Good quote, "Vaccine safety should be based on good science, not hypothesis, opinion, individual beliefs, or observations...." I agree. I got this book hoping to see some "good science" convincing me how effective and safe vaccines are. All I got were pat answers from medical establishments akin to opinion. If you are a concerned parent who wants to make up your own mind after examining empirical, scientific evidence, you won't find any here. You'll find "statistics," but no details to help you determine if the conclusions of the studies cited are warranted, valid, or statistically sound. There is no basic information on sample size or control groups, let alone data on results and statistical significance. Worst yet, Humiston and Good offer very few references, so for most statistics, you cannot even look the study up yourself to get that information.

For example, take the question, "...how effective is [the DTaP vaccine]?" The answer is: "...The current pertussis vaccines are reported to be from 59 to 89 percent effective, so it's important for young children to receive the full five-dose series." This is a typical response to this type of question. No references whatsoever. Am I supposed to just take these people's word for it? I don't even know WHOSE word I am supposed to blindly accept. Then I am supposed to act on this "reported" information and make sure my tiny baby gets stuck five times with needles holding bacteria just because SOMEONE said it was "59-89% effective"? I'm sorry, I need more than this to be convinced. What if those studies showing 59-89% effectiveness were invalid--then I'd be exposing my baby to the risks of vaccinations for some unknown benefit, if any at all.

Let me explain why details are important. A study done in England in the 1940's found that pertussis occurred in 18% of vaccinated children (88% effectiveness), and 87% in unvaccinated children. These numbers appear to be impressive, until you find out that the "unvaccinated" group received a vaccine containing Streptococcus pneumoniae among other agents as a control. These bacterial agents in the control vaccine could have interfered with immunity to pertussis, thus confounding the entire study. The fact that the study was conducted poorly renders the "statistics" scientifically meaningless. [Reference: Scheibner, Viera. Vaccination: 100 Years of Orthodox Research, New Atlantean Press, 1993. P. 16] It is interesting to note that Humiston and Good spared no pains to explain confounding variables when discussing studies that questioned vaccine safety.

This book offers some easy to understand descriptions of diseases and general information in an accessible Q&A format. To the authors' credit, they included case histories of vaccine damage as well as of diseases in question. Beyond this, most of the answers and "statistics" are practically useless for discerning vaccine effectiveness and safety, unless in you have a lot of blind faith in these authors. This book should have been more appropriately titled, "Press Release Answers for the Unquestioning Parent." Questioning parents would be better off with Viera Scheibner's Vaccination: 100 Years of Orthodox Research.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much help in my quest for real info, October 9, 2004

By	A. Cook "wnt2noitall" (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been earnestly researching the issues surrounding vaccination, and I chose this book hoping to get some real science to refute what people who oppose mandatory vaccination say. But I was very disappointed.

I felt the authors were simply spouting the official line. I did not feel convinced that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks. They glossed over real concerns about vaccines, when they might have taken the opportunity to confront and dispel them head-on. (Unfortunately, the more I research, the more I seem to find this to be the case. Those who support mandatory vaccination cannot categorically refute the arguments of those who question it.)

The one positive about the book is that it does give a good overview of each vaccine and the disease it's intended to prevent, as well important info on special cases. But, if you're just as concerned about your child developing diabetes as you are that she might contract whooping cough (or more concerned about it, as I am), this book won't help clear your concerns.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the facts and just what I needed, June 24, 2008

By	Mrs. Ed (TX) - See all my reviews

As a parent who suspects a vaccine might have played a role in my childs autism, I expected this book to be biased in favor of vaccines. It's not biased in either direction. It is the most objective vaccine book I have read. It gives factual information that parents need when making such an important descision in their childs health. Such as who should not receive this vaccine, side effects, etc. If you have an allergy to bakers yeast or egg whites you need to know this kind of information and this book is helpful. The only thing missing that you don't get from this book is any discussion of safer vaccine scheadules. That's okay, get this book for the facts. This would make a great baby shower gift too.