By Robert Sears, M.D.; 278 pages. Subhead: Making the Right Decision for Your Child.
If your pediatrician doesn't have the time or the inclination to really talk you through your decision on vaccines, Dr. Sears is ready to step in with research on what goes into those shots, why it's there, and how concerned you should be about it. The decision, he still leaves up to you, but he shares some opinions and options on ways to vaccinate safely and responsibly. It's a remarkably civil consideration of an incendiary topic.
- Offers a balanced, nonconfrontational viewpoint on a hot topic
- Describes exactly what's in all those vaccines and why
- Writing style is engaging and easy to read
- Includes recommended amended vaccine schedules for cautious parents
- Respectful of parents and the decisions they make
- You may wish you didn't know what was in some of those shots
- Parents who are strongly vaccine-cautious may feel he glosses over some safety issues
- Even with Sears's help, some of this material is hard to grasp
- It's possible to feel overwhelmed by too much information on this issue
- Your pediatrician may not be as amenable to vaccination options as Sears is
- Chapter 1: Haemophilus Influenzae Type B and the HIB Vaccine
Chapter 2: Pneumococcal Disease and the Pc Vaccine - Chapter 3: Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis and the DTaP Vaccine
Chapter 4: Hepatitus B and the Hep B Vaccine - Chapter 5: Rotavirus and the Rotavirus Vaccine
Chapter 6: Polio and the Polio Vaccine - Chapter 7: Measles, Mumps, and Rubella and the MMR Vaccine
Chapter 8: Chickenpox and the Varicella Vaccine - Chapter 9: Hepatitis A and the Hep A Vaccine
Chapter 10: Influenza and the Flu Vaccine - Chapter 11: Meningococcal and the Meningococcal Vaccine
Chapter 12: Human Papillomavirus Virus and the HPV Vaccine - Chapter 13: Combination Vaccines, Vaccines for Travel, and Vaccines for Other Special Situations
- Chapter 14: Vaccine Safety Research
Chapter 15: Vaccine Side Effects
Chapter 16: Vaccine Ingredients - Chapter 17: Myths and Questions About Vaccines
Chapter 18: Parents Who Delay or Decline Vaccinations - Chapter 19: What Should You Now Do?
I've often thought that what was missing in the vaccine debate was the ability of pediatricians to just sit down with parents, discuss all the issues, and work out some mutually agreeable accommodations. That's not something that gets to happen much anymore, with doctors pressed by insurance payments to see as many patients in a day as possible. But when medical professionals leave parents no choice but to do their own research, they're in a poor position to complain about the opinions formed.
Sears sees that problem, and considers another one: Maybe the reason your pediatrician can't discuss the details of vaccines is that he or she doesn't have them. Like patients, doctors have long been instructed that vaccines are a universal good not to be questioned. After an encounter with a vaccine opponent, Sears set out to really research those shots, and put the results in a format that both his patients and his colleagues could use as a reference.
He looks at each shot and describes the disease it guards against, the way it's made, and the concerns parents have. Then he gives an overview of some of the main safety issues -- toxic contents (and why you should worry more about aluminum than mercury), incomplete research, and scheduling that piles a lot of shots on babies. Included are two different amended vaccine schedules, depending on whether you want to forego as many shots as possible, or just space them out.
Thinking about this stuff is hard work, and you may long for the day when we could just take a doctor's word and be done with it. Still, if you've been thinking of ditching vaccines because the information isn't available to you to pick and choose, this book provides that. You still have to get your pediatrician to go along, but maybe passing on this book from a mainstream doctor will help.
