Book Review: The Vaccine Book

There is a fairly large selection of books on CBI's approved-for-book-review reading list which are related more to issues of early parenting than to pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. One such book is Robert Sears' The Vaccine Book, which I took an interest in from a personal point of view as well as because I'm sick to death of reading about birth at the moment (yep, it can happen; you read it here! *wink*).

It's an excellent read; the most informative, balanced, honest, and non-emotive thing I've ever come across about vaccines. Sears' own bias (i.e. pro-vaccine), which he is completely up-front about, does not interfere with his ability to provide an impartial analysis of vaccination issues, nor his ability to remain completely respectful of parents who choose to delay, only partially vaccinate, or forego vaccination altogether. The only really big sticking point I have with it, and this is hardly Sears' fault, is that it's written almost exclusively for an American audience (there's a chapter dedicated to the Canadian vaccine schedule, but that's it). Consequently, it's of limited value to Australian parents in that there will inevitably be differences between the two countries in terms of which brands of vaccines are available, and the incidence and risks associated with the diseases they prevent. However, my belief is that the differences are probably not significant. I know that the Australian Vaccination Network provides information about the brands available in Australia, although I am a little leery of that site because it's emotively anti-vax and not all the links within it work.

I would have liked to see a more thorough analysis of the anti-vaccination movement's concerns about the long-term consequences of vaccination (in particular their effect on gut health, allergies and intolerances), however, Sears admits that there has not been solid research into this issue so there isn't really much to say. I did appreciate his perspective on the common argument that vaccine-preventable diseases were already on the decline before vaccination was introduced -- which is to say that yes, they were on a slow decline but there is no question that vaccines have been the main cause of their more sudden decline in recent years. I also appreciated his frequent acknowledgment of the role that breastfeeding (and avoiding day care) plays in minimising children's risk of catching these diseases, and he recommends that children be breastfed for at least a year, preferably two.

As a childbirth educator I expect this topic to come up with clients frequently even though it's not my field of expertise, so I am glad to be able to have an excellent resource to point parents towards as they journey through the vaccination minefield.