The Vaccine Guide: Risks and Benefits for Children and Adults

I found this book helpful and objective. For example, this book explains that Hep B becomes a danger when your child is a teenager and makes the choice to use intravenous drugs or have unprotected sex. And by the time infants become teenagers those shots they had as infants are not effective anymore. Facts like this are very helpful. I am only sorry that I was not aware of this sooner since my toddler has had all 3 Hep B shots, the first one was in the hospital, not that I was asked if I wanted my 2 day old newborn to be given the Hep B shot. I felt sick to my stomach about bringing my infant to his well doctor visits since he was 2 months old because that is when the shots began. I was not aware of any literature then, but I felt in my heart that he was too young and too vulnerable to get 7 vaccinations injected into him (7 vaccinations within 4 shots). I agreed to 1 shot at 2 months and he took that just fine. Before his 4 month visit I read the book "A Shot in the Dark" and realized there was some unnecessary danger with shots for my infant. I agreed to 2 shots at his 4 month visit. After that I purchased this book and my now 15 month old has had very limited shots and has handled all of them well. I plan on not giving him the DTP and MMR shot at all, and the rest given slowly. My first Pediatrician asked me to leave their office since I was not willing to give my 2 month infant all 7 shots. My current Pediatrician is wonderful and very supportive in my decision to give my son limited shots, because she has seen some horrible reactions and also has seen those children who have had shots still get the disease, in particular the Whooping cough and Measles. I can honestly say my 15 month old has not been sick yet. All my friends & family have chosen to fully vaccinate their babies and every one of them has been sick more then once before their 1st birthdays. This of course may or may not have to do with the shots, but I kind of wonder if it does. As parents, we have to make the decisions that we feel are best for our children. And it should be just that - Our decision. After reading this book or others like it, you have to decide which is the lesser of two evils and make the decision that you feel most comfortable with. Just be prepared to be a little nervous either way you go.

My pediatrician recommended this book to me. I have a scientific and pharmaceutical background and I thought this would be another one of those dumbed down books for parents who want a quick answer. Instead I found a fair review of vaccination, including the history and politics surrounding this controversial issue, and a detailed description of each vaccine and of possible adverse reactions. In my opinion this book is well-written and data is presented in intentionally fair manner. I also like that it is not just an examination of vaccination, but also a very practical guide for new parents like myself. If you're the type of person who likes to research the data and decide for yourself, you will thoroughly appreciate this book.

After spending the night at the ER pediatrics unit due to my baby having a reaction from the dtap shot (the hospital concluded), I decided to read up on shots. I can't believe I was so good at researching things except for the immunizations prior to giving birth to my first baby. After reading this book, I felt a lot more comfortable in my decision I made and I was so confused before. It is pretty objective. Sure it brings in some allopathic thinkings but it also is up front with the statistics on what can influence them to look like something they are not..BOTH WAYS, not just in the allopathic sense. That is very important. It mentioned a lot of things that I'd not have thought about. I like how it breaks down each individual shot. It gives the background of each shot, what brought it on, what effects it can have, reactions, etc. And I also like the fact that it gives parents choices if they do not feel comfortable with shots...such as which ones are least a problem if you want to give only certain ones. It also brings in another way to do them, like do them one or two at a time instead of 7 shots at one time like my baby had at 2 months!. Deep down I wondered about this without even reading any literature. It also answers questions (on why the seizure happened and what to do about it) that I could not get the pro vaccination literature to answer when my baby had her seizure with the 2 month shots. If anything, I found that literature to be extremely biased. Their answer was..oh well..it is rare but you should still keep injecting your baby with the shot that is putting her into seizures! Well nothing is rare when your baby looks like she is dying..it becomes VERY real. The whole point of this book is to inform the parent so THEY can make the decision, not the drug companies, not the state, not schools, and not pediatricians...I personally like the parent to have this freedom of choice with some education behind the choice whichever it is.

As a parent, I had to struggle with my own decisions about vaccinations for my children, and with the reactions to vaccination that were very difficult for one of my children.As a health care practitoner, I discuss the topic of vaccination with the families that consult me, and strongly believe that consent must be well-informed. Parents have many questions and want to make good decisions for their children - they need accurate, factual information, presented without sensationalism, without glossing over details, without exhaustive detail that overwhelms even the most diligent parent. Parents want to know the risks of vaccinating as well as the risks of not vaccinating.Randy Neustaedter has done us all a favor by collecting un-biased research and presenting it in a factual, concise book. I strongly recommend this book to students and parents who ask me about vaccination, and offer the same recommendation to anyone reading this review. His writing style is clear and easy to follow, and he covers the topic with a fairness that comes from balanced research, rather than reactionary philosophy. If you only intend to read one book on the topic of vaccination, make it this one.

Extremely informative reference guide for any parent who wants to educate themselves about immunizations - - a subject all parents should be concerned about, and one that is currently too biased by the medical/pharmaceutical communities. This books sheds invaluable light on the subject!