A physicians review of "The Vaccine Book"November 4, 2008 I am a family physician and find this book to be the most important source for information on all vaccines. I would recommend this book to all primary and pediatric physicians. The information is to the point and very informative. Dr. Sears has many great suggestions on how to deal with patients concerns. He is non-biased and non-judgemental. For the lay population, he explains all that is needed about vaccines and gives several alternatives geared to the parents concerns. I will recommend this book to all my pediatric parents and fellow physicians. I would rate this book a 5 star-super book
Costs vs BenefitNovember 2, 2008 Excellent book about what goes into vaccinations and thinking twice before you blindly vaccinate your child or yourself. I decided to get one shot at a time for my baby, also following the selective schedule. Thanks to this book I was on the lookout for reactions and after one of each shot, we decided it was enough. After Dtap at 3 months, our baby quit babbling and withdrew for about 10 days, luckily recovered. We then did Prevnar and Hib at 4 months, to which he had inconsolable crying for 90 mins, a fever for 3 days, and projectile vomiting for 3 days. I wasn't confortable to risk the next reactions. We also did Polio to which he had no reaction. I have since continued to read other authors and have come to the conclusion if private insurance companies who do the best liability studies say they will NOT cover damage to life due to: Acts of God, Nuclear war, and vaccinations. Think about that along with the fact that you can't sue for damage thanks to our government protecting the makers, makes you wonder why would so many people want to, that it took an act of congress to protect the manufactures.
Thank you Dr. SearsOctober 30, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a practicing pediatrician in Fort Worth, Texas, I refer to Dr. Sears' book daily. He humbly approaches the subject and reassures parents that vaccinating their child is a good decision. This is the most exhaustive independent review of vaccine manufacturing that I have seen. I have only minor quibbles. I have seen a case of tetanus. It was terrible. A home born newborn was infected from tying off of the umbilical cord in an unsterile condition. Second, I think he overstates the risk of aluminum; Australian data indicates up to 2mg a day is safe. However, if I had written a book with so much information, I am sure many of my colleagues would have an issue or two. Thank you, Dr. Sears, for your informative and helpful book. And God Bless all you parents working so hard for your children and their future. Frank McGehee, MD
The Vaccine BookOctober 28, 2008 This is the most amazing book on vaccines. It gives you all of the information you need to make an informed decision about your child's vaccines. It includes ingredients for each shot, as well as, the possible side effects.
Must-Have Parenting ResourceOctober 25, 2008 Parents, this book is a must-read. If you don't purchase any other parenting book (justifiable, since there are enough reliable online resources to gorge on), this is the one to buy. Dr. Sears gives a balanced, holistic look at the vaccine question.
Dr. Sears is biased in favor of the medical community (why shouldn't he be? He's a doctor!), but what is so completely respectable about him is that 1) he admits his bias up front; 2) he tells you when his bias is affecting his recommendation for what vaccine to get when; and 3) he analyzes the research, knowing he has a bias, and works to mitigate his bias to be as objective as possible. That's one of the most respectable accomplishments I can think of.
I have a bias too! I am suspicious of the AMA, and believe that while most doctors are really great people, the government-pharmaceutical machine is out of control. I consider medicine akin to Enronesque Corporate America. And that makes it really difficult to *not* throw the baby out with the bathwater (excuse the idiom) when it comes to immunizations. I know some vaccines are beneficial. They have to be. Research aside, common sense tells us that. However, it's hard to separate out which vaccines are beneficial for your situation at what time. The fact that I felt like I was invited to dialogue with a member of the mainstream medical community is a huge testament to Dr. Sears' tone and intelligent approach to this book.
Thanks to Dr. Sears, I was able to go to my family practice doctor with an idea in mind tailored to my family's situation. Fortunately, my doctor and I were on the same page, and we executed a selective, delayed vaccination program that I am very happy with. I could not have accomplished this without Dr. Sears' straightforward analysis that assumes the reader is reasonable (not a tin-foil hat nut-job, as the AMA would like non-complying families to be viewed) and motivated. I love being treated with respect. The Sears family will forever have my gratitude and respect for daring to buck the AMA and the pharmaceutical-government machine that mandates money-motivated policies that really don't make sense.
This book includes a vaccine-by-vaccine analysis, with recommendations and individual scenarios. I also appreciate Dr. Sears' efforts using online resources to keep us up to date as information changes.
I hope that our government officials will wake up one day and quit working on behalf of big pharma. Until then, we have guardian angels like Dr. Sears to help us navigate waters that really shouldn't be this dangerous.
