A book review...has anyone a different angle to give on this please?

[Guest guest]

In an effort to be objective & find as much true & balanced

information as I can on vaccines & what to do with them, I would

appreciate feedback from this group on a review I have just read of

N.Z.'s book " Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? " .

Its by a pediatrician named Evan K. Yeung & can be found at this URL:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1881217302/wellwithinA/

Its left me really wondering how you can ever find good information,

since so much of it is like the Bible - it gets interpreted in so

many different ways! Until I can feel mostly sure about any vaccine I

would not want to give them to my daughter, but I need to find out so

much more...here's the review. I'd appreciate anyone's comments since

I am new at this & I hope some of you are more familiar with how to

see the wood past the trees!

With thanks

Candida.

" I was initially drawn into this topic by a friend who was receiving

a large amount of pressure from relatives not to immunize their soon-

to-be-born child. As a practicing pediatrician I have a significant

bias towards vaccination, but I did want to see the reasons people

offered for not immunizing their children. I chose Mr. 's book,

and was initally disturbed by the information he presented. His data

certainly did imply that immunizations were not all they were cracked

up to be. However, as I did some more reading into the subject, I

became more concerned with Mr. 's use of the statistics he

cites in support of his anti-immunization stance.

Much of the author's statements are technically correct, but he

leaves out additional information that may lead you to different

conclusions. For example, Mr. states, as evidence that over

90% of individuals who contract polio are asymptomatic, implying that

polio was not overly important as a health issue. This number is

correct. However, this low percentage still translated to 10 thousand

to 20 thousand cases of paralytic polio per year in the U.S. He

states that there is no credible evidence that vaccination caused

polio to disappear, and offers decreasing death rates due to polio

before vaccines as evidence. He says nothing about improvements in

health care, or the invention of the iron lung in 1928 which kept

people alive that would have died of respiratory failure previously,

and he certainly does not mention that the overall numbers of polio

cases appears to have been rising prior to vaccination. As evidence

that the polio vaccine is dangerous, Mr. offers evidence of an

increase in polio cases in the New England States over a 1 year

period from 1954-1955. He fails to mention the " Cutter Incident " in

which a badly inactivated vaccine batch from one company actually

caused polio in people, and fails to state that, after new

inactivation protocols were established, NO cases of polio have been

linked to the injected polio vaccine. Most importantly, he fails to

present the information that in a span of 11 years, new U.S. polio

cases per year dropped from 18000 cases to double digits after the

start of the vaccination program.

I unfortunately found many of the same types of errors throughout

this book; errors of misinterpretation, omission, or inaccuracy. The

author attempts to show that practically all immunizations are

worthless, or potentially dangerous, which speaks to his agenda. I

find this particularly annoying. In my own educational career, I have

seen the Haemophilus influenzae B (HiB) conjugated vaccine transform

HiB from a potentially deadly disease that affected 1 in every 200

children, to a rarity over the span of 10 years (from 20000 US cases

per year to about 200 per year, more than 600 US deaths per year to

less than 10). During my 3 year residency at a major urban children's

hospital, I saw NO cases of Haemophilus influenzae B. It seems

ludicrous to me to imply that a vaccine like conjugated HiB could be

ineffective.

The author's attempts to link vaccines with autism, hyperactivity,

violent crime, drug abuse, and genetic mutations are tenuous at best,

and his implication that Hepatitis B vaccine somehow contributed to

the AIDS epidemic is extremely weak (hepatitis B and HIV are spread

by the same mechanisms. Those at high risk for hepatitis B and got

the vaccine are the same ones at risk to get AIDS). It is perhaps an

indication of how strongly he feels against immunizations that he

would attempt to tie these pervasive, multifactorial problems of

society to vaccines.

For those who are thinking about the immunization issue, I would urge

you to discuss the matter with your pediatrician. I would also

strongly urge your to take this book with a grain of salt if you read

it. An educated choice can only be made with reliable, accurate

information. Although Mr. is certainly passionate about his

viewpoint, his interpretation of the data may not be entirely

accurate...

*Addendum 8/7/06*

I had almost forgotten about the review I had written 6 years ago

until it was brought to my attention that Mr. Rocka had done 'a

review of my review' in essence. I thought I should write in to clear

up a few misconceptions...

1) Mr. Rocka implies that I would lose thousands of dollars should

immunizations be revoked. I actually work at a major pediatric

hospital in the pediatric emergency department. Immunizations are not

the focus of emergency care, and I actually write orders for very few

immunizations, aside from the occasional tetanus booster for patients

with lacerations and deep puncture wounds. In addition, I am a

salaried employee. I get paid the same regardless of how many or how

few immunizations I give.

2) Mr. Rocka states that I " neglect to touch on some of the points of

the book that are practically without question. " In my review, I

concentrated on one chapter and gave examples of how his

interpretation of figures and statistics are erroneous. I am sure

that most readers realize that a point-by-point refutation of all of

the issues raised in his book is beyond the scope of an Amazon

review. I would say that Mr. Rocka brings up two examples that are

not as clear cut as he says they are. He is correct in saying most

chickenpox cases are mild. However, most chickenpox deaths prior to

the introduction of the vaccine were in previously healthy

individuals, and were not due to chickenpox itself, but from

complications (superinfection with Group A Strep, and necrotizing

fasciitis). Having seen more than a few cases of these come through

our emergency department, I can say that it leaves a significant

impression after witnessing how fast a child can become severely ill

from such an illness.

Regarding the Hepatitis B vaccine, most mainstream pediatricians

recommend it because it protects against a potentially debilitating

disease that may be acquired in later life. Hepatitis B is

transmitted through needle sticks, sexual contact (NOT necessarily

promiscuity- if one is unfortunate, one can get it through one's

first sexual experience) and transfusion. Every day in the emergency

department, we see evidence of exactly how naive parents can be about

what their children have done and are currently doing. I consider it

to be prudent to hope for the best, but to plan for the worst. In

Asia, where Hepatitis B was endemic, the Hep B vaccine slashed the

number of cases of acute liver failure and hepatic cancer when it was

introduced.

In the edition of this book that I reviewed six years ago, I had

significant reservations about the way the author used statistics and

figures in an erroneous fashion to prove his point. The decision to

immunize or not to immunize should be made with accurate information,

and in consultation with one's health provider. Questioning

the 'medical status quo' can be healthy for both the patient and the

physician... but one has to make sure that the information one uses

is based on sound reasoning and accurate interpretation of the data.

I remain unconvinced that this book gives either...