Vaccinated...

Vaccinated

One Man's Quest to Defeat the World's Deadliest Diseases

By Paul A. Offit, M.D.

"The problem with vaccines... When they work, absolutely nothing happens. Nothing. Parents go on with their lives, not once thinking that their child was saved from meningitis caused by Hib or from liver cancer caused by hepatitis B or from fatal pneumonia caused by pneumococcus or from paralysis caused by polio. We live in a state of blissful denial. But somebody was getting those diseases. Before the Hib vaccine in the early 1990's, every year about TEN THOUSAND children were stricken with meningitis, leaving many blind, deaf, and retarded. Today, fewer than fifty children every year suffer this disease."

- From Vaccinated

Vaccinated is an easy to read history of vaccines. Specifically about Maurice Hilleman, the man responsible for saving some eight million lives worldwide every year with the vaccines he created.


I love information. I love learning new things. Vaccinated is full of information about all the vaccines we immunize our children with. Something I really didn't think twice about when Isaiah was born. It was a non issue. They told me it was best... and so I had him immunized.

Same with Malachi... no big deal.

And then we moved to the Midwest. Suddenly I was confronted with many mothers who firmly believed against immunizations. It is a major controversy. I couldn't wait to read and review this book, so I could be better educated. I have had two more babies since moving to the Midwest... and I have done some research, and still decided that vaccines are the better choice. Reading this book gave me the information I needed to have a conversation with those who question our decision to have our kids vaccinated.

I can still VIVIDLY remember having a fun little "mommy lunch" at my house... I made sandwiches and homemade soup and invited about 10 mommy's over. It started out fine... conversation flowed.... and then conversation took an unexpected turn... vaccines. There were a few mothers that did not believe in vaccinating, and a few who did... the rest of us sat there quietly. I could not believe the heated argument that ensued.

One of the main reasons, I think, mothers don't vaccinate is the association the MMR vaccine has with autism. Which is covered in this book.

Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a charming British doctor, signed a contract with Richard Barr, a personal injury lawyer. Together they made unfounded statements claiming MMR causes autism. Never mind the fact, he was never able to prove this. Never mind the fact that if everyone decided that MMR was unsafe, we would have an epidemic of...

Mumps: (Mumps can lead to inflammation and swelling of the brain and other organs, Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) Symptoms appear in the first week after the parotid glands begin to swell and may include: high fever, stiff neck, headache, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, convulsions, and other signs of brain involvement.)

Measles: (Complications of measles can include: ear infections, convulsions due to the fever (febrile convulsions), pneumonia, conjunctivitis and occasionally more serious eye problems. The heart and nervous system may also be affected. Measles can be fatal or lead to continuing disability, so prevention is much the best option, as no cure yet exists.

Measles is very rare in the United States. Due to widespread immunizations, the number of U.S. measles cases has steadily declined in the last 50 years. There were thousands of cases of the measles in 1950, but in 2002 there were just 44. Most of the time, the cases occur in settings where there are lots of kids, some of whom haven't gotten vaccinated or whose immunity has diminished since they got the vaccine.

The most important thing you can do to protect your child from measles is to have him or her vaccinated according to the schedule prescribed by your child's doctor.)

and Rubella: (When rubella occurs in a pregnant woman, it may cause congenital rubella syndrome, with potentially devastating consequences for the developing fetus. Children who are infected with rubella before birth are at risk for growth retardation; mental retardation; malformations of the heart and eyes; deafness; and liver, spleen, and bone marrow problems.

Infants who have congenital rubella syndrome can shed the virus in urine and fluid from the nose and throat for a year or more and may pass the virus to people who have not been immunized.

Before a vaccine against rubella became available in 1969, rubella epidemics occurred every 6 to 9 years. Kids ages 5 to 9 were primarily affected, and many cases of congenital rubella occurred as well. Now, due to immunization of children, there are much fewer cases of rubella and congenital rubella.

Most rubella infections today appear in young, non-immunized adults rather than children. In fact, experts estimate that 10% of young adults are currently susceptible to rubella, which could pose a danger to any children they might have someday.)

ACTUAL studies prove that there is no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Even Dr. Andrew Wakefield himself, writes that there is no proof.

Autism typically shows up between a child's 1st and 2nd birthday... The MMR vaccine is typically given 12 - 15 months of age.

An example from the book about the power of an anecdote:

A mother of a 4 month old brought her baby into the office for shots. The baby was sitting on the mother's lap while I was drawing one of the vaccines into a syringe. I looked over and the baby had started to seize. There was a history of seizures in the family, and the child went on to become epileptic. But imagine what the mother would have thought if I had given the vaccine just five minutes earlier. She would have been convinced that the vaccine had caused her daughter's epilepsy. And all of the statistical data in the world showing her that it didn't wouldn't have convinced her otherwise."

As Americans... we take for granted how blessed we are to have access to these vaccines that save our lives. And those that don't vaccinate... take for granted the fact that if the rest of us followed in suit, we would all be dying of the diseases that killed thousands before us.

Before you decided to not vaccinate... I encourage you to read this book.

Before I read this book, I thought vaccinating was a good idea. After reading it, I KNOW it's a good idea.


This review made possible by The Parent Bloggers Network