Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver

Arthur Allen freely admits that he is biased in writing this book, calling himself a "vaccine obsessive" and claims that a doctor saved his life from an infection as a child, so he owes a lot to doctors. But he does a good job presenting his side of the issue and the history of vaccines.However, that doesn't mean that he has to demonize anyone who opposes his view and that of established medicine. He could have simply reported the facts for his side of the case, but he chose to slander the opposition whenever he could, for example calling them "mavericks, cure peddlars, slackers, fruitcakes, vaccine shunners, living in a spooky world with a profound misunderstanding of science."He is especially drawn to religious fanatics, mainly Christian, whom he apparently hates. He went out of his way to visit "kooks" wherever he could find them, and then make fun of them.If Allen was a journalist instead of a mere reporter, he would have fairly researched both sides of the controversy. He would have talked to the credible experts opposed to vaccination. You won't find any expert of any stature opposed to vaccination in this book, like Dr. Robert Mendelsohn or Dr. Andrew Saul, just two examples. Vaccine scientists are just a little lower than angels here.The really key issues are avoided,like whether diseases like polio and diptheria went away because of better sanitation and the subsidence of the virus, or because of the vaccine. Polio subsided in Europe without the massive vaccination program used in the US, Why?Another key issue is whether vaccines cause diseases like autism. The unfortunate linking between mercury based thimerasol and autism set the autistic kids up for a fall. As soon as thimerasol is removed from vaccines, the authorities can say "see, that didn't cause it!"The fact is that vaccines contain several ingredients that can freak out a kid's immune system, and babies don't even have a well developed immune system anyway. They include inactivated viruses, nasty chemicals like detergents, mercury, aluminum, etc., occasional live viruses and foreign tissue from the source media (like chicken or monkey cells)The biggest missing issue of all is prevention and an honest cost calculation for vaccines. If vaccines cost $8 each for a cheap vaccine, we can see what the total cost is for the population. It is big bucks. It includes all the time for doctors and nurses in pediatric clinics. But not everyone succumbs to viruses, many avoid them or quickly overcome them. Why isn't Allen curious why this is? He stumbles over the truth on page 340, mentioning that Buttram said that "vitamin C prevents polio" but quickly picks himself up, dusts himself off and stepped around it, as Winston Churchill quipped.Dr. Frederick Klenner cured 60 cases of polio in 1948 with ascorbate (vitamin C)and wrote a medical paper that was presented at an AMA seminar June 10, 1949, but they ignored it. They were looking for a vaccine, not a cure.So, what would the cost comparison be between curing a small number of infected individuals with a perfectly safe, cheap and effective treatment, versus innoculating the entire population and possibly killing a few in the process? Vaccines are money makers for medical staff, even if not for the manufacturers. This is the Achilles heel of the vaccine theory and it urgently needs to be discussed, but you won't find it in this book.W.G. WhitneySt. Albert, Alberta, Canada

I loved this because I enjoy the medical history genre and this does a great job of making the sociology of the biology very vivid. It doesn’t do the best job of the biology itself though...there’s a bit of general lack of good writing / craft story telling. This book would’ve been so different in the hands of Michael Lewis or Siddhartha Mukherjee...having said that, this book is still a treasure lore of facts and headlines that have now faded into obscurity. If you like the medical writing canon, it is worth a read.

I enjoyed reading this book for its historical perspective as well as for the few chapters of investigative journalism done during recent whooping cough outbreaks. I think Allen portrayed anti-vaccinating parents somewhat unfairly during the whooping cough epidemic, but perhaps his account was accurate based on what he experienced. More interesting was the history and the arguments for/against vaccines that have been brought up over the past 2+ centuries since variolation was in practice to protect against smallpox. A lot of the arguments from the early days have persisted, and he fairly points out, with skepticism, how some concerns just don't make much sense. One thing I was pleased with is that, even though this book seeems to come out in favor of vaccines overall, he didn't shy away from some of the serious issues with vaccines: such as SV40 in polio vaccine in the 60's which was found to cause tumors, and Hepatitis B being introduced during the course of vaccination because of the use of human blood serum and the routine re-use of needles for vaccinating in low-resource areas. A great book for anyone who wants a fair look at vaccine history. The only con is that it could get a bit dry during long discussions of the process of creating some vaccines and the politics involved.

and the author does a good research job and then takes the time to document all his sources. This is why I still buy books and don't take what I see on the internet too seriously. Those who still believe that vaccines are to blame for autism or other ills their children contract won't like this book. Those who don't believe that members of a society have a certain obligation to one another as a result of living in a community won't like this book. I think that author is a little degoratory when speaking about the movements that have sprung up around the previously mentioned misconceptions but to give him his due, he does methodically go through all the material, studies etc that have been done to test these unproven hypothesis, sooooooooo. I think this is a very well written and well researched book.

This will appeal to many people, from history buffs to health professionals and those of us who also love a good story. Myself, I always enjoy the human behavior aspect to how things came to be in our society, and the story of vaccination is terrific. Aside from the fun aspect of this book, Mr. Allen manages to write compassionately about the real people who have believed that their children's autism was caused by vaccines. There has been so much propaganda and spurious argumentation around this issue (particularly by people like Don Imus--he should be ashamed of himself), which has unfortunately lead many parents of children with autism to believe that vaccination caused their child's disability. I hope very much that Mr. Allen's work will help shine the light of reason on that sad situation.

This book is a highly readeable and intriguing look at an important subject. Mr. Allen writes well and gives us insights into the thought process of the anti-vax movement. He also walks the reader through the long and facinating history of the development of vaccines. A must for any parent or interested onlooker curious about this subject.Other good books out there can also help readers understand this issue including the following one that Mr. Allen praised: Your Baby's Best Shot: Why Vaccines Are Safe and Save Lives

This massive 500 page tome is an excellent history of vaccination and immunisation from 1721-2003 covering all the trials and tribulations of the history,introduction,implementing programmes,resistance to actions,regulations and discussion of results.Unfortunately the book is very American orientated with countries such as the U.K.only getting marginal mention.One thing the author omits is that Wakefield the prime author of the infamous 1998 Lancet (later retracted) that linked -Chrons disease in 12 autistic children to measles vaccine was struck of the medical register by the General Medical Council.An update volume is required to deal with the rapid advances in vaccines eg. Hep C, HPV,Ebola and malaria.

There are few topics at the moment that gets both academics and the public at large into a froth.Andrew Wakefield is seen by one group as a charlatan and self-publicising scientist. By those who have relatives who possibly have been damaged by vaccination side-effects he's seen as someone who has dared to speak out against Big Pharma, and try to explain what happens when society decides to mass medicate the majority and in so doing harms the few.Allen's book is even handed and a must read for parents who have to make the decision on whether to vaccinate their children, and in which way.There will always be the question of whether we can stipulate that a mass vaccination policy is a credible solution to preventing illness. There will always be those who suffer iatrogenic illnesses, mostly minor and short term but occasionally serious and life-long.You decide.