Vaccination has greatly diminished death, illness and suffering in the world. But no other medical technology has been so dogged with controversy. The book chronicles the development of the key lifesaving vaccines since the 18th century. It tells the stories of great scientists and their discoveries, of the protests and pain along the stumbling path of progress. This is the first book to tell the whole story of vaccination for a general audience. In light of controversies about flu vaccine and autism, it will be of particular interest to parents, pediatricians, public health workers and anyone fascinated by medical history. Read More>>
Also Available: Table of Contents and Index
Arthur Allen is a Washington DC-based journalist who has written on vaccine issues in The New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, The New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, Salon and Slate.
A timely, fair-minded and crisply written account of ‘medicine’s greatest lifesaver….’ As more children go unvaccinated in the United States, there has been a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases. Meanwhile, fewer pharmaceutical companies are now producing vaccines, citing the high cost of testing, diminishing markets and a fear of litigation. For Allen, a reversal of these trends will require something long overdue: a frank national discussion about the risks and benefits of vaccination. His splendid book is a smart place to begin.
David Oshinsky, New York Times Book Review
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Here is my editorial on vaccination from this morning's New York Times. A quick run through the concept of herd immunity, and a quick shot in the arm for flu vaccination.
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Arthur Allen kicked off his book tour in January 2007 by debating David Kirby in San Diego on the theory that vaccines cause autism. He has appeared at bookstores in Portland, Cincinnati and Washington, DC, and has spoken before scientific and lay audiences at George Washington University and the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. He is giving the annual Bioethics Lecture at Woods Hole on July 26 and will speak to public health officials in Broward County, Fla., on Oct. 26. Allen has appeared on NPR's "Science Friday" to discuss Merck's Gardasil human papilloma virus vaccine, and on numerous NPR affiliate station programs in Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Oregon and Washington DC. His op-ed columns on vaccines have appeared in the Dallas Morning News, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post Outlook section, The New Republic Online, HuffingtonPost and The New York Times. He has also been interviewed on VOA programs aimed at Latin America, China and Indonesia, on Judy Warner's XM Satellite Radio program and for numerous other radio stations in the United States and Canada. Please contact him at artnews@earthlink.net if you are interested in arranging a speaking engagement.
Yes. Do what your pediatrician says. Vaccines don’t cause autism. To read more about how to think about vaccination, CLICK HERE>>
Standing O, baby! As we used to say in college - NOT AFRAID. A message people need to hear, and in a big venue; good going.
Posted by: isles | January 25, 2007 at 12:30 PM