Book Review: The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears

I blog for ChicagoMomsBlog, and we were offered an opportunity to write a review of Dr. Robert W. Sears’ The Vaccine Book. The following can also be found at www.dcmomsblog.com in the comments section along with a dozen or so other reviews of this book:

Dr. Robert W. Sears has produced an important book for all parents and pediatricians. I have been vaccine wary (or, as Dr. Sears would say, “a cautious parent”) ever since we took our puppy in for his first shots. Back then, my instinct was that such a little thing should not be getting so much injected into his tiny system. Yes, we had our vet split up our puppy’s vaccinations. So, of course, when it came time to vaccinate our children, we have insisted on the same treatment. Although there has been a lot of information out there, most of it was so biased, I didn’t know what to do except to follow my instincts.

Finally, Dr. Sears has put it all together for us. He separates each disease and its correlating vaccine by chapter. Within the chapter, he explains the disease, whether the disease is serious, the individual ingredients in the vaccine, how it is made, and the side effects of the vaccine. The doctor even sets forth the differences between the brands of individual vaccines. He raises important questions for the medical community to answer, such as whether the amount of aluminum in vaccines is too much. Because he has not been satisfied by the current research in this area, he provides an alternate schedule designed to enable children to get the needed vaccines while limiting their exposure to aluminum as much as possible. Dr. Sears also points out that, ultimately, we don’t know the risks we are subjecting our children to when we have them vaccinated, and such a study (or studies) are needed.

Finally, he tells parents how to approach the doctor if s/he refuses to be flexible regarding the current American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine schedule. The bottom line is, if you are at all curious about the substances that are injected into your child (and you should be) this book is worth your time. Oh how I wish I had this book before my children were born. Indeed, this book would make a great gift for that pregnant person in your life.