these products. They can speak rationally about them. They are typically science-literate and put that ability to good use in researching these products. They are far from zealots. They are just parents seeking to make good decisions for their children.
As for parents who do vaccinate, almost all such parents I have met appear to have never really thought much about these products, nor have they viewed this as a decision to be made. They just go with the flow. They have never encountered any issue with their children that they have associated with vaccination.
They often do what the media typically says good parents are expected to do—trust their doctors. That is not to say they do not hold orthodox views about vaccines, but those views are susceptible to change upon presentation of actual evidence.
Then there is what I call the “Vaccines Amen” crowd. This is the group of parents, doctors, and public health professionals I have dealt with—a small army of them—who
have a fervent belief in vaccines. This group is often impervious to reason or data, even when it is provided from their oracle, the CDC. This group attributes properties to one or more vaccines that simply do not exist. They overstate the benefits and cannot accept even official government data showing that many of their core beliefs regarding vaccines are false. When these beliefs are challenged, this crowd gets angry.
They often entrench and, instead of addressing the evidence or accepting the clear reality, demand instead that everyone must adopt their beliefs. And for those who refuse to adopt their beliefs, they demand that the refusers be censored, have their rights taken away, and be mandated to be injected. This is the “Vaccines Amen” crowd.
Let me put it this way: the fanatics are not those who choose not to vaccinate. The fanatics are those who think everyone must be vaccinated whether or not they want to engage in this medical procedure. Let me also state that I think most pediatricians, doctors, and public health authorities mean well. They believe they are engaging in God’s work. And that is often the problem that makes them blind to reality.
The title of this book, Vaccines, Amen, comes from this ironic and strange reality I live in every day in which the so-called “antivaxxers” I encounter are often very knowledgeable about the primary sources underpinning the purported safety and efficacy of these products.
They often can discuss the literature, pre- and post-licensure, calmly and rationally. They can certainly be upset that their child has been excluded from school, but they are not emotional about the actual products they have chosen not to give their child. Discussing those, these parents are rational.
On the flip side, I have found the opposite to be the case among the Vaccines Amen crowd, including a significant proportion of medical professionals. When challenged about vaccines, they are often emotional about the products themselves. They lack an understanding of the pre- and post-licensure literature and much else about these products.
They regurgitate canned answers they have never researched—essentially mantras. When these mantras are challenged with evidence, it causes cognitive dissonance that often results in anger or a similar emotional response, not a logical response. Most critically, their beliefs in these products persist despite clear, unequivocal evidence to the contrary. This is why I call them “beliefs”—because that is what they are.
Choosing to vaccinate is an important decision that should not be made based on dogma. It should be based on evidence. And you are more likely to receive factual, evidence-based information about vaccines from someone who has been required to litigate and prove or disprove claims made about vaccines with evidence, than you will from someone who just repeats mantras about these products. It is also why the claims in this book are supported by citation to primary sources or reliable evidence.
Parents will spend hours researching before choosing to buy or lease a car or a house. Stress over car seats and stroller purchases. Research which foods are healthiest. It similarly behooves all parents to give the same level of attention to understanding the dozens of products—and they are products—pharmaceutical companies and the CDC seek to inject into their children. Whatever you choose, let me suggest doing so from a place of knowledge
My Bias
My personal ideological position regarding vaccines is that vaccines should not be mandated. Everyone should be able to get a vaccine, any vaccine, and get as many as they want. But civil and individual rights demand that no one should be coerced into receiving an unwanted medical product or procedure, including a vaccine.
In fact, my rule of thumb is that the more a product needs to be coerced, the more one should be concerned about that product. Parents who make the often socially ostracizing, rights-crushing decision to not vaccinate often have a good reason. Yet, it is these same parents, and their children, who vaccine mandates adversely impact.
Do some vaccines have potential benefits? Yes. Virtually every drug has some benefit. That is even true of most drugs withdrawn from the market due to serious safety or efficacy issues. That does not mean every drug makes sense for every person. It does not mean the potential benefits outweigh the risks. It does not mean that reasonable minds cannot differ on this calculus. They can.
Some may choose a speculative benefit even where there is a known harm, and vice versa. The point is that there must be liberty to choose.
The right to choose is certainly my bias, and I tried to keep that bias in mind as I drafted and presented the facts and information in this book. Meaning I sought to be as objective as possible. For that reason, and because there is skepticism regarding any statements made regarding vaccines, as noted, the proof to support each material assertion is included within this book.
Now, I would love to jump into vaccine safety because it is probably the most interesting part of this book, but I know many cannot hear anything about vaccine safety without yelling or wanting to yell, “we must trust the experts!” or “we would all be dead without vaccines!”
So, the first three parts of this book will address those claims before we get to vaccine safety in Part IV.
With that—hold on tight. You are about to learn things you can never unlearn.