Vaccines 2.0: The Careful Parent's Guide to Making Safe Vaccination Choices for Your Family

The authors are pro-choice and pro-vaccines: they just want to help parents to make well-considered decisions, based on the potential benefits and risks for each vaccine.They are well aware of the all-too-real vaccine injuries we see, and the ongoing epidemic of asthma, autoimmune disease, learning disabilities, allergies, and autism, all of which accelerated along with the increases in the vaccine schedule starting in the late 1980s. This is not a "don't trust what you are seeing with your own eyes, everything is fine, vaccines are perfectly safe" fable. Their table of benefits and risks breaks things down into smaller pieces, and is based on established science and real outcomes, which makes it easier to evaluate the tradeoffs.The book has a good section on how to work with your health-care provider and to manage legal issues if you don't want to give your children the full recommended schedule, or want to delay some of the vaccines.There is some more information I'd like to add:(1) There is emerging research suggesting that any immunizations before the age of 2 creates higher risks for asthma, autoimmune disease, allergies, and neurological damage. You can google "hilary butler vaccines and neonatal immune development" for a helpful 3-part series.(2) The evaluations of the vaccines are somewhat subjective, and everyone needs to adjust these based on their priorities and what they've learned.(3) The "options" chapter makes it seem as if you have to homeschool in order to not give any vaccines. However, in most states there are exemptions that allow unvaccinated kids to attend public schools.(4) It is important to know how to treat these illnesses, because both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can get all of them. (For vaccines, some people don't "take" and never have immunity, others get some immunity but it wanes over time.) For whooping cough, Dr Suzanne Humphries, MD, has an excellent proven protocol available through her web site. For measles, high-dose Vitamin A is extremely effective, you can get dosage recommendations from the CDC. For all illnesses, Vitamin C given every 1-2 hours to bowel tolerance is extremely helpful. Do not give fever reducers, especially acetaminophen (Tylenol).I would suggest two more excellent books. From Dr Suzanne Humphries,  Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and The Forgotten History . She is an MD who has spent a lot of time learning about vaccines, their risks and benefits. From Dr Tetyana Obukhanych, her book  Vaccine Illusion , is also excellent. She is a PhD immunologist who has worked at Harvard and Stanford.

Excellent book for parents and anyone considering any of the 16 vaccines (69 doses) on the CDC schedule for children through age 18. This doesn't include the adult vaccines like shingles. They give a clear accounting of all the rewards and risks of each vaccine along with some history of each. It isn't well referenced and as I've already commented, I think they're mistaken that polio and smallpox were eradicated due to vaccines. But they give compelling evidence to avoid the vaccines with the worst scores and to at least delay any that a parent might be inclined to use. They give some choices on how to space them even if deciding to go with the entire schedule in a safer fashion that the CDC schedule. In order from worst to best (or least worse?) are HPV/Gardasil, Hepatitis B, Varicella (Chickenpox), Influenza (Flu), Rotavirus (diarrhea), Tetanus, Mumps, Pneumococcal, Diptheria, Polio, Meningococcal, Hepatitis A, Hib, Measles, Rubella, Persussis (Whooping cough). A good companion book to go along with this one would be Suzanne Humphries', Dissolving Illusions, where she gives a more complete history of each vaccine. Her website and youtube videos also give plenty of safe and effective ways to care for children who come down with infectious diseases should one decide not tovaccinate. But for the current schedule as of 2015, if you wanted to give just one book to a new parent in a quandary about vaccines, this would be a good one. The parent, armed with just this one book, would sadly be more informed than the vast majority of pediatricians.

WOW! I'm recommending this book to all of my new mom friends! I SO appreciated their perspective -- not anti-vaccine, but not the pro-vaccine propaganda that we so often hear from doctors. This book educated me on the vaccine industry, specific history of various vaccines, history and risk of the illnesses that our children are "supposed" to vaccinated against, etc. The risk-reward ratings were so helpful, and I appreciated the advice they gave on making your own schedule and talking with pediatricians about your preferences. I feel so much more prepared.NOTE: this book does have quite a few typos, but the authors' writing is still very good. I was just an English major so I realize things like that. :)

This is a must read for any potential or new parents. I found this one of the best books for information I was hungering for. No cliches or quick dismissals from arrogant physicians who can't take two seconds out their assembly line health care day to talk to you about this serious serious decision. We are making the decision for our children to participate (or not) in the government mandated vaccine program and it is a heavy burden not to be treated lightly. We bring our healthy babies to the table - the drug makers, government and the doctors need to really make it safe. That should be their responsibility. They currently are failing miserably and big money is the emphasis not child safety. If your child is damaged or killed you are the only one that is responsible for the whole mess - Doctors and drug companies cannot be sued for damage/death for anything vaccine related... that is a sobering truth many of us parents have no clue about. Start there and read this book as you do your own research... don't believe it unless you can prove it to yourself and your precious child!

Well organized. Rare information.

If you are a Mom or Dad who is trying to decide what to do with the 33 plus shots that are now "required" with much pressure by doctors for our children before they are 5 (most before they are 2) this is the book for you. My son was developing normally in every way until he hit the shot traffic jam at 6-12 months. He stopped responding to his name, stopped looking us in the eyes, stopped saying "Daddy and Mommy", stopped eating vegetables and fruits, stopped sleeping more than three hours. By 2 years old, I was horribly distraught. We had his hearing checked. Normal. A speech therapist who met him suggested autism and he was later diagnosed with nonverbal autism. Our biomedical doctor listened to the symptoms, the regression of development, and taught us about "Immunization Induced Autism." This is what we believe happened to our son. If you are concerned in the least, this book will give you the tools you need to be informed and to protect your child.

incredible book, i love every fact that is presented a must read for every good person

Really informative and balanced. I only wish he talked about Canada.