---

This comprehensive resource tackles current questions encountered by health professionals about the safety of vaccines, from autism to cancer. It will help professionals, trainees and researchers aid families in making informed decisions about vaccination.

---

Vaccinophobia and Vaccine Controversies of the 21st Century

Archana Chatterjee, editor

Once hailed as a medical miracle, vaccination has come under attack from multiple fronts, including occasionally from within medicine. And while the rates of adverse reactions remain low, suggestions that vaccines can cause serious illness (and even death) are inspiring parents to refuse routine immunizations for their children--ironically, exposing them and others to potentially serious illness.

Vaccinophobia and Vaccine Controversies of the 21st Century explains clearly how this state of affairs came into being, why it persists, and how healthcare professionals can best respond. Current findings review answers to bedrock questions about known adverse events, what vaccine additives are used for, and real and perceived risks involved in immunization. Perspectives representing pediatricians, family practitioners, nurses, parents, pharmacy professionals, the CDC, and the public health community help the reader sort out legitimate from irrational concerns. In-depth analyses discuss the possibility of links with asthma, cancer, Guillain-Barre syndrome, SIDS, and, of course, autism. Included in the coverage:

Communicating vaccine risks and benefits
The vaccine misinformation landscape in family medicine
Perceived risks from live viral vaccines
The media´s role in vaccine misinformation
Autoimmunity, allergies, asthma, and a relationship to vaccines
Vaccines and autism: the controversy that won´t go away

The conundrums described here are pertinent to practitioners in pediatrics, family medicine, primary care, and nursing to help families with informed decision making. In addition, Vaccinophobia and Vaccine Controversies of the 21st Century should be read by trainees and researchers in child development and maternal and child health as the book´s issues will have an impact on future generations of children and their families.

---

Chapter 1 The History of Vaccine Challenges: Conquering Diseases, Plagued by Controversy.- Chapter 2 Vaccine Development and Safety.- Chapter 3 Known Vaccine-Associated Adverse Events.- Chapter 4 Communicating Vaccine Risks and Benefits.- Chapter 5- Vaccine Refusal- Perspectives from Pediatrics.-Chapter 6 The Anti-vaccine Movement - A Pharmacist´s View.-Chapter 7 Antivaccinationism - Parental viewpoint.-Chapter 8 The Vaccine Misinformation Landscape in Family Medicine.- Chapter 9 Vaccines: Boon or Bane - a Nurse´s Outlook.-Chapter 10 The Controversy That Will Not Go Away: Vaccines and Autism.- Archana Chatterjee, M.D., Ph.D..- Chapter 11 Thimerosal and other Vaccine Additives.-Chapter 12 Perceived risks from live viral vaccines.-Chapter 13 Can Vaccines Cause Cancer?.-Chapter 14 Autoimmunity, Allergies, and Asthma - A Relationship to Vaccines.- Chapter 15 The Role of Public Heath Ethics in Vaccine Decision Making: Insights from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.-Chapter 16 Alternative Schedules - Why not?.-Chapter 17 Influenza Vaccines and Guillain Barré Syndrome.- Chapter 18 Can Vaccines Cause Chronic Diseases?.- Chapter 19 Kawasaki Disease and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Any Connection to Vaccination?.- Chapter 20 Political and Legal Issues in Vaccination.-Chapter 21 The Media´s Role in Vaccine Misinformation.- Chapter 22 Vaccines and The Internet.- Chapter 23 An International Perspective on Vaccine Safety.- Chapter 24 An Infection Prevention Perspective on Immunizations.- Chapter 25 Insights from Public Health: A Framework for Understanding and Fostering Vaccine Acceptance.

---