Vaccine Epidemic

Vaccine Epidemic.

I don't even know where to begin.

Here's what gets my attention, from Chapter Ten, "The Greater Good" by Allen Tate:

"It is indisputable that the vaccination schedule has never been tested for safety in its entirety, or in the way that it is administered. In other words, while the government reviews, licenses, and compels individual vaccines, it does not test--or require vaccine makers to test--the safety and efficacy of vaccines given simultaneously or the cumulative effects of multiple vaccines." p. 83.

Not tested for safety in the way that it is administered as a full schedule? Not tested for safety in the way it is administered as six vaccines in one visit for an infant? I never dreamed that my team of pediatricians would push me to inject my babies with substances in ways (six or seven organisms at once in four or five vaccines on the same day, for example) that are not tested for safety.

Additionally, I believed that if someone in my family were injured by a vaccine, that help would be readily available. I was wrong on so many levels.

Almost every sentence is a sentence worth quoting for you; that would be impractical in a blog post. Borrow this book from the library. Buy it. You need to read it. You simply do. We all need to consider this information, and now.

If you're the parent of a child on the autism spectrum, you may know some of this information already. You may have been to a conference where one (or three) of the Vaccine Epidemic authors spoke. We may have been there together. I've read a lot, been to more conferences and workshops than I can count, and I can tell you that Vaccine Epidemic contains authors and perspective that I have not considered in such depth.

Vaccine Epidemic is a book about vaccine choice and informed consent; it's not so much "anti-vaccine" as it is "make an educated decision". And you will get an education. There is so much I didn't know about vaccines and vaccine policy. You too?

And yes, I want to quote almost every sentence.

Vaccine Epidemic spells out for readers not only what the current medical, legal, and ethical issues are, but history of vaccines and vaccine policy, along with some real-life stories from vaccine injured people, and not just autism-related vaccine injuries.

Vaccine Epidemic is a 350 page hardback, with 26 chapters edited by Louise Kuo Habakus, M.A., and Mary Holland, J.D. and written by 20+ different professionals, parents, and individuals who have studied issues surrounding vaccines; some of the parents and individuals have been affected negatively by vaccines.

The book is arranged in three sections.

Part I covers The Case For Vaccination Choice and includes 10 chapters by Mary Holland, JD; Sookyung Song; Louise Kuo Habakus, MA; James Turner, JD; William Wagner, JD; Carol Stott, PhD, MSC (Epidemiology), CSci, CPsychol; Andrew Wakefield, MB, BS, FRCS, FRCPath; Robert Johnston, PhD; Vera Hassner Sharav, MLS; and Allen Tate.

Part II is called "Narratives and the Echoes of 'Omelas'" and includes chapters by Ursula K LeGuin; Gay Tate, PhD (Biochemistry), LSW; mom Amy Pingel ("My Daughter is 'One Less'"); Sonja Hintz, RN and Alexander Hintz; Captain Richard Rovert, USAF (Ret.), with afterword by Colonel Felix M. Grieder, USAF (Ret); and a chapter that reminds individuals to keep your receipt if you get a flu shot at a drug store by Lisa Marks Smith entitled, "Get Your Affairs in Order". (I'd read part of Lisa Marks Smith's story here; she has Chapter 16, "Get Your Affairs In Order".)

Part III covers The Topics in the Debate and includes 10 chapters by Michael Belkin; Ginger Taylor, MS; Boyd Haley, PhD; Kim Mack Rosenberg, JD; Twila Brase, RN; Sherri Tenpenny, DO, AOBNMM; Annemarie Colbin, PhD; Louise Kuo Habakus, MA; Mary Holland in a cliff notes type version of the whole attack on Andy Wakefield; and Andrew Wakefield, MB, BS, FRCS, FRCPath.

There are so many facts I find incredible; there is so much surrounding vaccines that I trusted blindly without researching. Had I done my research, I would have chosen to vaccinate differently, skipping some completely, delaying some.

If you're researching vaccines and vaccine safety, make sure to include Vaccine Epidemic on your list of books to read and consider.

Skyhorse Publishing sent me a copy of Vaccine Epidemic for review purposes. I am not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review. I do not benefit financially if you purchase this book.