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Below is a sample book review from the fourth edition of The Immunization Resource Guide: The Vaccine Guide: Making an Informed Choice Randall Neustaedter, OMD. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books and Homeopathic Educational Services. 1996. 260 pp. ISBN 1-55643-215-1. Index. Bibliography. Resources. This is the new edition of Dr. Neustaedter's previous book, The Immunization Decision. It is over twice the length of this earlier book. As the subtitle states, Dr. Neustaedter helps parents make an informed choice regarding vaccinations for their childrn. Dr. Neustaedter is a homeopathic physician specializing in child health care with a doctorate in Oriental Medicine. His philosophy of health is in direct opposition to the theory upon which vaccination is based, but he does not let this overly influence his desire to let parents decide for themselves, and he maintains an even-handed and balanced approach throughout the book. Dr. Neustaedter has expanded the section on deciding if, when, and which vaccines to give your child, incorporating more medical references and a lengthier look at alternative health systems, especially homeopathy. He stresses that parents can become informed enough about vaccines to make a decision regarding their use that they will feel comfortable with. He helps parents by addressing the questions most parents have about vaccines: short and long-term adverse reactions and the timing and choosing of vaccines. This latter point -- determining when to give your child a particular vaccine and deciding whether to refuse certain ones -- is not discussed much by other authors. Other authors who oppose vaccinations on philosophical grounds, or on the grounds of short and long-term adverse reactions, tend to dismiss the use of all vaccines. By telling parents that they can delay shots until a child is older, or refuse only certain ones, Dr. Neustaedter is going beyond the "yes" or "no" decision which parents may feel they must make and instead he helps them realize that their decision can be a combination of both "yes" and "no" and "we'll wait awhile". He also examines the ingredients in vaccines and adverse reactions associated with these ingredients. He includes a chapter critiquing conventional vaccine studies. He shows how case studies can be flawed in design and distort results. He asserts that those running a study are in many cases affiliated with vaccine manufacturers. He includes a whole chapter on homeopathic vaccines and quotes the work of Isaac Golden, DC (see review of his work in Section I)in this regard. He presents the history of homeopathic vaccines and studies that indicate their safety and effectiveness, but he is quick to add that no long-term studies have been conducted to evaluate the lasting effectiveness of homeopathic vaccines used for prevention (rather than for treatment of the disease) though some practitioners (e.g., Golden) feel that they are effective. He briefly presents factors that affect our immune system that we have direct control over regarding our children's health. These are : (1) breastfeeding; (2) good nutrition; (3) adequate sanitation and hygienic living conditions; and (4) environments that supports the mental and emotional health of our children. He explains legal exemptions and quotes from various court cases, especially concerning religious exemptions, which support a parents' right to seek a legal exemption. In the second half of the book he describes the following vaccines in individual chapters: tetanus, polio, pertussis, acellular pertussis, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella, Hib, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and pneumococcal vaccine. For each of these he gives a summary of the disease and development of the vaccine, looks at vaccine effectiveness, and describes short and long-term adverse reactions. He quotes from medical studies throughout and includes relevant statistics whenever possible. At the end of each chapter he presents his own recommendations about that particular vaccine, while making it clear that it is up to the parents to make any final decisions. Dr. Neustaedter has written a thorough, balanced introductory book on immunizations which covers many areas of controversy regarding the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and accomplishes his stated goal of helping parents make an informed choice. It is well-footnoted and researched with medical journal articles. **Note for visitors: Dr. Neustaedter has just finished a new edition of this book to be available Summer 2002.**
Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. **Thank you for reading these excerpts.** |
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