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>>
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.
Publisher’s Weekly: “Allen’s comprehensive, often unexpected and intelligently told history illuminates the complexity of a public health policy that may put the individual at risk but will save the community.”
Kirkus Reviews: “Allen’s clear, readable account describes the good that vaccines have done and the problems that vaccination faces. Solid, attention-holding history.”
View All Reviews
It took the world about a decade of concerted effort to eradicate smallpox -- the last "wild" case of the disease was in Somalia in 1978 (someone died of the pox in a British lab accident a few years later). The campaign to eradicate polio began in 1988 and will certainly reach the 20-year mark without finishing. To understand why, it's helpful to read this sad Reuters post from Iraq. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/cde520844242e6fd0dc635d48580390a.htm
Last week, late at night in my Japanese-style 8x6 New York City hotel room, I was zapping through the TV channels when I came upon a most peculiar advertisement. In it, black, white and Hispanic tweens, teens and young women were skipping rope, running in marathons, waiting for subway trains and generally looking proud to be young and female. They were also smiling happily and holding up signs that had the number "1" printed or painted on them. This, it turned out, was an ad for Merck's new Gardasil vaccine, which protects against the human papilloma virus, the microorganism that causes cervical cancer. The theme of the ad was "One Less Life Affected by Cervical Cancer."
Not always for the reasons you'd think
Debate with David Kirby, author of Evidence of Harm
Price Center
University of California, San Diego
Politics and Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave.
Washington DC
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside
Portland, Oregon
Yes. Do what your pediatrician says. Vaccines don’t cause autism. To read more about how to think about vaccination, CLICK HERE>>
