The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child

Robert Sears, MD

Peak Oil Resources Review:

The Vaccine Book accomplished what I had hoped (and feared) to do; it assimilated all of the available research and data on vaccines so that I would have a more well-informed background when it came to vaccinating my kids.

It used to be that my wife and I simply trusted whatever our doctors indicated we should have done for (to?) our kids.  Only after hearing many anecdotal stories of vaccines and autism, did we begin to question the current wisdom of the "herd".

As a scientist, I read this book with an eye for contradiction.  The plethora of anti-vaccine material available that seems of capitalize off of people fears, also demonstrates a marked imprecision and lack of clarity.  In The Vaccine Book, Dr. Sears does a wonderful job of presenting his opinions on vaccines in a clear and concise fashion.

After a brief introduction, Sears covers the complete background of all the infant and childhood vaccinations which children are typically expected to receive.  He includes what the disease is and how common it is, how serious and treatable it may or may not be, and what the vaccine is and how it is made.  He wraps up each chapter by giving the common viewpoints of those who choose to vaccinate for a particular disease, those who don't, and his overall opinion.

While that encompasses more than half of the book, the real significance comes to light when Sears discusses risk.  Much talk concerning vaccines, at least among laypeople, deals with risk in an ambiguous sense.  Hard numbers are difficult to come by.  However, with medical decisions that potential carry a burdensome weight, hard numbers are indispensable.  For me, this was one of the highlights of the book because it takes the discussion out of the arena of the ethereal, and instead plants its firmly on the ground.  I suspect that you will appreciate this as much as I did, if not more.

The other element that makes this book a must read (or own) is that alternative vaccination schedules are provided, based upon the evidence given, with parental opinion taken into consideration.  I say schedules, because there are more than one alternative.  In taking into account a number of factors, it boils down to no more than two vaccines at a time in order to obtain the full course of vaccinations.  Fewer vaccinations per visit are possible with a truncated schedule.

I could hardly recommend this book more strongly if I tried.  It encourages the active participation of parents in their healthcare decisions of their kids.  For parents to effectively do this, it requires some manner of education.  Unfortunately, not every doctor has the time to properly educate his or her patients.  This book fills the gap.  It does a superb job of educating, dispelling myths, and empowering parents to thinks critically about a topic where emotion often clouds reason.  

Robert Sears is a board certified pediatrician in private practice with his father, William Sears. He received his medical degree from Georgetown University and completed his pediatric training at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. He is the co-author of The Baby Book (revised edition), The Premature Baby Book, and The Baby Sleep Book.