Russell Steen

Disclaimer! I began reading this as a parent that did not vaccinate my children, or I should say not entirely. My daughter (now 29) got one shot at 6 weeks. Went lethargic and had a fever and I decided no more. Our first son was at a check-up (Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles) and when my wife said we aren’t vaccinating, the nurses got her to look away, but she turned to see the nurse injecting our son. Not only without permission, after being informed we do not want vaccines. Yes. This happened. We have no clue what was in that syringe. I thought this book would be goofy, like low budget Christian films or novels that are so focused on pushing a message they only appeal to those who already believe the narrative being pushed. To an extent this is true with this book, but to me, I found it much, much easier to follow the details of research presented as dialogue in the context of real people making hard choices. Easier than the deep dives into studies and trials and journals that require days and hours and an internet machete to navigate. I have read The Vaccine Book, Turtles All The Way Down, Miller’s Review of Critical Vaccine Studies, The Vaccine Friendly Plan, etc. This novel does a great job of distilling the arguments and pointing to the best available research and data. It also helps explain why and how so many people are ignorant about the risks. I can personally attest the legislation process and lobbying described is kinder than reality. The conflicts of interest among those in charge of our public health agencies is sickening-mind-bending, awful. It must stop. I don’t have to tell you that the media operates as marketing branch for Big Pharma, and you can forget about Google Searches unless you have lots of time and patience. I bought two more copies to give to my grown children. I’ll probably get more. Finally. I had to set the book down twice to wait until I stopped weeping. I wish. . . I wish I had learned this earlier.