The Vaccine Book

Let me just start by saying that this isn't an anti-vax or a pro-vax blog post. I wanted to write this as a pro-EDUCATION post.  I know the vaccine topic is a hot topic right now and there is a lot of emotion that people bring to the issue. They might know someone that has had complications with either a vaccine preventable disease or has had a family member that has had an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

There are also a lot of people that lie somewhere between the two extremes that just want to do what is best for their children and don't know who to trust when it comes to the information that is out there. God knows if you are on social media you've seen posts from both sides.  All of that info is tough to filter through.  Are the sources credible?  Is the research that they've done sound?  

If you do have firm beliefs one way or the other and happen to be brave enough to post something on social media explaining your decision, WATCH OUT!!!  I've seen just straight hatred from people that have the contrary beliefs.  If you ever want to lose faith in the compassion that humans have for one another go find a biased vaccine post and read the comments section.  

I guess I hope to bring some civil discourse to the subject once again wrapped around education.  That is the reason we bought this book...so that we would have a better knowledge of each of the diseases that kids get vaccinated for and also a better knowledge of each of the vaccines, how they are made and also any risks associated with them.  Call me a skeptic, but even when it comes to medical advice I still like to do my own research.  I'm slowly getting better at filtering out the crap studies from the legit ones, although it is still hard.  

I'm not saying that you shouldn't listen to the pediatricians, but you should be able to hold a conversation with them on the topic.  Also as Dr. Sears, the author of this book, states:  

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“Doctors learn a lot about diseases in medical school, but we learn very little about vaccines. … We don’t review the research ourselves. We never learn what goes into making vaccines or how their safety is studied. So, when patients want a little more information about shots, all we can really say as doctors is that the diseases are bad and the shots are good.” [1]

Educating yourself is more about learning the right questions to ask, rather than trying to have a debate on vaccines with your pediatrician.  By understanding a little bit about vaccines and the diseases they prevent, you will be able to have a conversation with him or her.  With a little education you will be able to ask questions about the safety of aluminum in vaccines and whether multiple vaccines that contain aluminum should be given at the same visit and you will have an understanding of the answer your pediatrician gives.  On the flip-side, making a comment like, "Jenny McCarthy says vaccines cause autism, so I don't think I want to vaccinate my baby"...will cause your credibility to go down tremendously and you'll come across as uneducated.  

I can relate to this a little bit. When I was working as a golf professional and giving someone a lesson...if they came to the lesson and told me about a tip that their buddy gave them to help them with their slice, I knew right away that I had an uphill battle for the rest of the lesson.  Now if they told me that they had taken multiple lessons from another pro or even read something in the latest Golf Magazine...then the dialogue tended to me more open.  I appreciated it when someone questioned something, because it made it feel like it was more of a discussion.  I was able to explain why I wanted them to do something, rather than just telling them, "Do this!"  Likewise, your pediatrician shouldn't be threatened by you asking questions, it will demonstrate that you care about the process.  

If you are looking to reinforce your view of vaccines, there is certainly a lot of information out there that will support whichever direction you choose...and A LOT of it is biased.  I believe one of the keys to being well educated on any issue is looking at both sides.  So if you are pro-vax go to www.vactruth.com or go watch a new online movie "Bought" (www.boughtmovie.net).  If you are anti-vax go to the CDC website. They have a number of online courses that you can take to educate yourself about vaccine safety.  

I think this book does a good job of being middle ground between those two extremes. The structure of how he lays everything out is super easy to digest.  He dedicates each chapter to a specific disease/vaccine and breaks it down:

• What is "XYZ"?  
• Is "XYZ" common?
• When is "XYZ" vaccine given?
• How is "XYZ" vaccine made?
• What ingredients are in the final vaccine solution?
• Are any of these ingredients controversial?
• What are the side effects of the "XYZ" vaccine?
• Should you give your baby the "XYZ" vaccine?
  - Reasons to get the vaccine.
  - Reasons why some people chose not to get this vaccine
  - Options to consider when getting this vaccine
• The way I see it.

There isn't a lot of fluff and sensationalism about stories of his grandfather being crippled by polio or how his niece got brain encephalitis from an MMR vaccine (neither of those things actually happened by the way). He does a really good job of just stating the facts.  I would say he tends to promote pretty much every vaccine, but does give some logical reasons for delaying or not not giving them if you have certain religious beliefs or family situations.  At the end of the book he dedicates a chapter to vaccine research, which I thought was really good.  He also talks about ingredients in the vaccines and which ingredients have the potential to do more harm.  He ends with some alternative schedules that you might consider if you feel uncomfortable with the AAP schedule. 

I would highly recommend this book to any parent or future parent to learn more about vaccines. The topic is huge and this book doesn't cover it all, but it covers a lot.  I strongly encourage you to put in some extra time and do some unbiased research, no matter which way you lean.  Try to look at the information objectively, rationally and make the best decision for your family.  If you have specific questions, feel free to email us.  Lastly, if you are looking for a debate, I would encourage you to take your comments elsewhere!