Deadly Choices : How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. In the second book this season (after journalist Seth Mnookin's The Panic Virus) to attack vaccine paranoia, Offit—who drew antivaccinist fire for Autism's False Prophets—presents a smart, hard-hitting exposé of vaccine pseudoscience. Offit brings outstanding credentials to the subject: he's a vaccinologist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and an expert in infectious diseases, and he tackles claims that childhood inoculations cause brain damage, autism, diabetes, and cancer, finding a farrago of misinformation, faulty research, and sly deceptions fed to distraught parents by media hype, ax-grinding activists, and personal-injury lawyers. He embellishes his account with a sprightly history of paranoid medical populism—19th-century critics of the cowpox-derived smallpox vaccine insisted it could turn people into cows—and a blistering attack on celebrity antivaccine ideologues Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey, and Bill Maher and the medical writers who pander to parental anxieties. Offit dwells less than Mnookin on the sociology of the controversy and more on the science. The result is a thorough dismantling of antivaccine notions and a sober warning about the resurgence of deadly childhood infections stemming from declining vaccination rates. Worried parents, especially, will find this a lucid, compelling riposte to antivaccine fear-mongering. Photos. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. FromStarred Review Infectious disease expert Offit, long an outspoken and prolific (Vaccinated, 2007) champion of universal immunization via vaccines, ratchets up the urgency of his crusade by taking on the loudest and highest-profile spokespersons for the anti-vaccine movement. He spares no one, not Jim Carrey, not Jenny McCarthy, television’s Dr. Oz, or even Dr. Bob Sears, as he tosses salvo after salvo of scientific evidence across the bow of their anti-vaccine ships. Their anti-vaccine arguments, he says, consist of nothing more than anecdotal drama combined with conspiracy theories that pander to parents’ most emotional fears. What they should be doing, he says, is encouraging parents to trust the huge bank of scientific data proving the safety of vaccines and their efficacy in eliminating many deadly infectious diseases. Armed with his own arsenal of anecdotal horror stories that focus on worst case histories of the unvaccinated, mostly children, in addition to pages of scientific study citations supporting his premise, Offit pulls no punches. His tone is edgier than usual this time, his arguments more virulent. It is clear that he wants his message and the facts, not rumors or infectious diseases, to go viral. --Donna Chavez Duct Tape: Dream designer material or simple adhesive used for binding purposes? Thanks to Stick It!, duct tape will become a valuable commodity in your house now that it can be coaxed into wacked-out wallets, wild wearables, punked-out paper goods, and funky jewelry that will bedazzle any outfit fit for all occasions! This invaluable guide#x97;complete with folders and step-by-step directions#x97;will lead you through 99 different craft projects so you’ll become your own #x91;DT’ aficionado. Each project is leveled from: #x93;Dude, my five-year-old sister could do that” to #x93;Don’t even think about operating heavy machinery.” Told in an accessible #x93;teen-speak” language hip tapesters will love, and reminiscent of Stitch #x91;N Bitch and The Big Bad-Ass Book of Crafts, this book is appropriate for the new generation of cool and funky hand made craftsters. Read, unroll, and express your rockin’ self through.. There's a silent, dangerous war going on out there. On one side are parents, bombarded with stories about the dangers of vaccines, now wary of immunizing their sons and daughters. On the other side are doctors, scared to send kids out of their offices vulnerable to illnesses like whooping cough and measles--the diseases of their grandparents. How did anyone come to view vaccines with horror? The answer is rooted in one of the most powerful citizen activist movements in our nation's history. In Deadly Choices , infectious disease expert Paul Offit relates the shocking story of anti-vaccine America--its origins, leaders, influences, and impact. Offering strategies to keep us from returning to an era when children routinely died from infections, Deadly Choices is a vigorous and definitive rebuttal of the powerful anti-vaccine movement.

In 2010, California suffered the largest and deadliest outbreak of pertussis, also known as “whooping cough,” in more than fifty years. This tragedy was avoidable. An effective vaccine has been available since the 1940s. In recent years other diseases, like measles and mumps, have also made a comeback. The reason for these epidemics can be traced to a group whose vocal proponents insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that vaccines are poison. As a consequence, parents and caretakers are rejecting vaccines for themselves and their families.

In Deadly Choices, infectious-disease expert Paul Offit takes a look behind the curtain of the anti-vaccine movement. What he finds is a reminder of the power of scientific knowledge, and the harm we risk if we ignore it.

In 2014, California suffered the largest and deadliest outbreak of pertussis, also known as "whooping cough," in more than fifty years. This tragedy was avoidable. An effective vaccine has been available since the 1940s. In recent years other diseases, like measles and mumps, have also made a comeback. The reason for these epidemics can be traced to a group whose vocal proponents insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that vaccines are poison. As a consequence, parents and caretakers are rejecting vaccines for themselves and their families. In Deadly Choices , infectious-disease expert Paul Offit takes a look behind the curtain of the anti-vaccine movement. What he finds is a reminder of the power of scientific knowledge, and the harm we risk if we ignore it. How did we get to a place where vaccines are viewed with horror rather than as life-saving medicine? The answer is rooted in one of the most powerful and disturbing citizen activist movements in our nation’s history -- a movement that, despite recent epidemics and deaths, continues to grow. Deadly Choices is the story of anti-vaccine activity in America -- its origins, leaders, influences, and impact -- and is a powerful defense of science in the face of fear. - Publisher. The Story Of Anti-vaccine Activity In America, Its Origins, Leaders, Influences, And Impact. The Birth Of Fear -- This England -- A Crude Brew -- Roulette Redux -- Make The Angels Weep -- Justice -- Past Is Prologue -- Tragedy Of The Commons -- The Mean Season -- Dr. Bob -- Trust. Paul A. Offit. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Let Your Rockin' Self Unroll! From whacked-out wallets to wild wearables (and more!), go from sticky to stylin' with these super-hip duct tape projects. Updated with lots of new ideas and colorful tapes to inspire, you can add extra pizzazz to your room and wicked creativity to your life! From Whacked-out Wallets To Wild Wearables (and More!), Go From Sticky To Stylin' With These Super-hip Duct Tape Projects. Updated With Lots Of New Ideas And Colorful Tapes To Inspire, You Can Add Extra Pizzazz To Your Room And Wicked Creativity To Your Life!--back Cover. There's a war going on out there - a silent, dangerous war. On one side are parents, bombarded with stories about the dangers of vaccines, how they overwhelm the immune system. Then, they watch their children get as many as 26 vaccines, sometimes five at a time. "Some will never encounter the very best antidote to vaccine-related misinformation: the writings of vaccinologist Paul Offit. No one is better at reducing anti-vaccine claims to intellectual rubble."--Chris Mooney, New Scientist Discusses the damages caused by the anti-vaccine movement and argues the necessity of vaccinations for children to prevent such diseases as measles, mumps, and whooping cough.