Why do we fear vaccines? A provocative examination by Eula Biss

On Immunity: An Inoculation  – September 30, 2014

Why do we fear vaccines? A provocative examination by Eula Biss, the author of Notes from No Man’s Land, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Available in Kindle form at Amazon

The Pundit has just finished reading this wonderful book from cover to cover in one day. He thoroughly recommends the experience as a rewarding pathway to fuller understanding of human reactions to biological and chemical risks -- such as fears of  vaccines or genetically modified organisms. The book is a psychological and literary education about human responses to contagions and fears of infections, toxins, ill-health, and other malign influences in life.

Publisher Blurb:

Upon becoming a new mother, Eula Biss addresses a chronic condition of fear—fear of the government, the medical establishment, and what is in your child’s air, food, mattress, medicine, and vaccines. She finds that you cannot immunize your child, or yourself, from the world.

     In this bold, fascinating book, Biss investigates the metaphors and myths surrounding our conception of immunity and its implications for the individual and the social body. As she hears more and more fears about vaccines, Biss researches what they mean for her own child, her immediate community, America, and the world, both historically and in the present moment. She extends a conversation with other mothers to meditations on Voltaire’s Candide, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Susan Sontag’s AIDS and Its Metaphors, and beyond. On Immunity is a moving account of how we are all interconnected—our bodies and our fates.

One five star reader review at Amazon

Parents and doctors / This is a "Must Read" for you / It's wisdom and truth

By S. Goldstein on October 1, 2014

Format: Hardcover

I work in pediatrics- a field that deals with immunizations and questions about immunizations on a daily basis. I have lectured about vaccines to numerous parent and medical groups. There are a cornucopia of books about vaccines out there, and there are many that are good and very good. On Immunity is just excellent.

In my medical training, during the late 1990's-early 2000's, we were taught very little about how to discuss vaccines with parents. The attitude was that the doctor would tell the parent "your child is getting some shots today" and the parent would say "that's great, thanks!" and we would all go on with our day. When I entered the real world, I found that parents had many questions - some crazy and some very legitimate. As I was about to have my own child, I worried that some of the fears I was hearing could be true, and I spent a great deal of time doing further research. In the subsequent years, I put together a lecture that addressed the common fears about vaccines, and discussed with families and other health care workers the validity of those fears. I read many good books about vaccines (like the Mnookin book, and some of Paul Offit's books). I also read some bad ones (the Sears book, Jenny Mccarthy's odd views). On Immunity is definitely at the top of the heap.

If you are a parent who wants to understand the truths and consequences about vaccines in a concise but literate way, or if you are a health care worker who wishes you had a better way of framing answers to questions from concerned families, then you absolutely must read this book. It is gripping but light, short but detailed, and above all it is true. I cannot recommend it highly enough.