A Shot in the Dark :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Parents or parents to be must read this!!

2004-11-23
This book as well as the Sanctity Of Human Blood by Tim O'Shea were huge eye openers for my husband and I, in the area of vaccinations. We feel every parent needs to be informed on this subject. A Shot In The Dark goes into debth on the DTP vaccine and mainly focuses on the pertussis vaccine. The book will make you cry to hear the hundreds of stories of Pertussis vaccine damaged children and their families. There are thousands of children that are damaged by the pertussis vaccine each year and must of those cases are not even reported or noted. This book talks about reactions to the vaccine, the doctors who are must of the time unwilling to admit when a child has suffered a vaccine reaction and has permanent damage. It talks about the different forms of damage and how to recognize them. It talks about the vaccine manufacturers and the lack of testing done for safety on the pertussis vaccine. This book covers the tests and information that individules and some doctors have done that is for the must part covered up by manufacturers, laboratories, and doctors that don't want the truth out. Even though this book is over 10 years old the information is still true for today as nothing much has changed in administering the pertussis vaccine. Parents are still not told that a child can suffer convulations, seizures, collapse, SIDS, and learning disabilities to name a few. My children are not vaccinated. All three are in excellent health and have never had ear infections or any other health problems in which I had to give them any drug or antibotic. Please read this book, your childs future as well as yours may depend on it.

Still Relevant in DTaP age

2004-10-18
I heard about this book soon after my daughter had a vaccine reaction in 2002. I figured the contents might not apply to me since my child got the DTaP vaccine (with acellular pertussis) instead of the no-longer-in-use DTP with whole cell pertussis. I finally decided to read it in late 2004.

I couldn't believe how very relevant and applicable the book is to my situation in 2004. Yes, this book IS STILL VERY RELEVANT in a world where DTP has been replaced by DTaP.

How is it still relevant?

In my case, my child had inconsolable high pitched screaming for 6 hours straight after her 4 mo. shots. As explained in the book, high pitched screaming is a known and well-documented adverse effect of the whole-cell pertussis component of DTP. My child did not get DTP but instead got "the safer" DTaP, and yet this reaction still occurred. There were also longer term side effects that this book would categorize as neurological. My infant stopped making eye contact for over a week, and my previously vocal and communicative infant stopped cooing for nearly 4 weeks!! How I prayed every day God would give me my baby back!

When I reported the longer term side effects to my doctor, she dismissed it as "anecdotal" suggesting there is nothing in the data to support that a lack of eye contact or loss of cooing could be caused by any vaccine. I couldn't believe the disrespect and disregard for my report of the facts of what had occurred. This book offered some relief and support in this regard because I know now that I am not alone. And this is unfortunate. Other parents of children who have vaccine reactions are treated similarly by their pediatricians.

I concur with asking the question posed by the author, exactly when did the medical community switch from listening carefully to reports of symptoms from parents and patients and begin to listen only to published reports from controlled studies - most of which are funded by organizations with a conflict of interest? Something is very wrong with a system that denies and dismisses the valid reports of concerned parents who have witnessed changes in their child post-vaccination.

In my case, prior to reading all I could get my hands on about vaccines, I was ready to agree with the doctor that my daughter should continue with all other vaccines eliminating only the pertussis vaccine. Then, just before the next round of shots were given, a last minute record review indicated that the leg that had swollen up like a goose egg was not even the leg where the DTaP was administered!! Polio and Hib went into that leg!!

So what a quandry for this parent, indeed! Which toxin caused the swollen leg? Which toxin/vaccine/component caused the loss of eye contact? Which caused the cessation of verbal cooing and the ongoing restlessness and the changes in sleep patterns? Was it acellular pertussis? Or was it diptheria, tetanus, hib, or polio? Or could it have been some ingredient in the vaccines, a preservative or adjuvant material? Could it have been carryover materials from the human fetal cells or animal cells used in manufacturing? No one will ever know. Nor will answers ever come as long as the medical community continues to deny that vaccine reactions occur.

The last sentence of the book reads, "The time has come to become educated about vaccines."

I completely agree with the author on this point and think others will too after reading this book and others on the topic of vaccine safety.

Clear writing, many case studies

2003-10-01
Trying to decide just how vaccines are for your children? Read this and learn what can happen, what people have been through, what the doctor isn't telling you, and why they don't tell you.

The book is easy to read and hard to put down.

A major eye opener regarding the medical establishment 2001-06-20
Even if only half the allegations in this book were true, it would be worth the read. As I read the account of how children were damaged by the vaccine and how doctors and public officials reacted and tried to cover up the truth, I wondered, if these kids had been mice and the mice had shown the same symptoms after doses of the vaccine, would there have been any hesitation in implicating the vaccine? Probably not, because the conclusions are inescapable. In addition, there are no financial stakes involved in vaccinating mice. I am a highly trained scientist and I find that the questions and criticisms raised by the authors are valid. Their work here pertains to the whole cell pertussis vaccine, but I would suggest that parents raise the same questions about the acellular pertussis vaccine. One has only to read the package insert to learn that it is NOT a benign concoction, free from "the side effects of the whole cell one" as doctors will no doubt tell their patients. This book has shown that apparently, our kids' lives are not as important as the profits that drug companies could make, or the reputation of the medical establishment, at least in the eyes of the lawmakers who are responsible for making vaccination compulsory in this country. I salute the parents, doctors and other scientists as well as the journalists who had, and continue to have the courage to bring the dangers of many medical practices to the attention of the public. This book is definitely becoming part of my library.

It will make you question. 2001-03-28
The authors of this book have perceived, through their research and interviews, significant health threats associated with the pertussis vaccine. They have challenged the relationship between the profit motivated and secretive phamaceutical companies and an affluent medical establishment. They have taken on the arduous task of convincing the American public, which is enamored with it's national medical reputation, that the public's best interests are often not the guiding principles. We Americans have grown up in a society that rarely questions it's medical establishment. This is true even as history has time and again proven that this establishment has often promulgated dangerous and deadly medical practices. One needs not search far to find examples of malpractice disguised as scientifically "proven" medical treatment. The better known of these include blood-letting and the application of leeches to draw out disease. Dr. Benjamin Rush of colonial Philadelphia is heralded not only as a patriot but, more importantly as one of the founders of our American medical establishment. Less known, is his record during the Yellow Fever epidemics of his day. His arrogant and persistent defense of his own method of treatment, which consisted of purging the afflicted patient by infusing them with mercury, undoubtedly hastened the deaths of thousands. Modern medicine has, indeed, done much to improve the health of our society today but this does not, nor should it, protect it from concientious public scrutiny and mandated reform when medical policy goes awry. The authors ask us to question an entrenched medical establishment and they do it very effectively, all the while maintaining a strict journalistic integrity. This book is an important introduction to a profound problem facing us as a society. It is well worth the discomfort you will experience while reading it.

It could save your childs life 2008-05-31
I wish I had read this book before I had my daughter vaccinated,unfortunately she died right after receiving her vaccines in 2001,they tried blaming it on SIDS(very easy cover up) but I hired a lawyer and proved it wrong,I didn't get any money nor did I want that as it won't replace what I lost,I wanted to prove a point.If parents only knew what was in these vaccines and how alot of these aren't really needed they would be appalled.There is a reason they make you sign a consent form in the Dr's office and every state has a Vaccine Injury Compensation Program(VICP) and a VAERS(vaccine adverse event reporting system)in place.Alot of Dr's won't even vaccine their own kids because of the dangers and Dr's get paid a set amount of $ to administer these shots to our kids.Read this book please,all the side effects that our kids experience after receiving the vaccine are NOT normal.If I only knew then what I know now.One more thing,when the schools and daycares tell you that they can't enter without the vaccines,don't believe them,there are very easy ways around it,my son goes to school no problem without them and is healthy as can be.

You got to be kidding me!!!! 2008-04-28
There is a risk that comes with everything, even taking a peaceful walk in the woods, does that mean we shouldn't? Vaccines DO save lives, do some more research on real medical literature written by people more knowledgeable on the topic than the author. It is absolutely inconceivable, and egoistic not to vaccinate your children and it would prove to be a complete disaster in the long run. Talk to, see and stay with a person that has Diphtheria, Tetanus or Pertussis for a few moments before you make the decision. Trust me the diseases still exist and they will and might get back if people made the decision not to vaccinate and THAT is scary!

Dangerous Book 2006-01-31
What is wrong with people? Why do you think there is some conspiracy to hurt children with immunizations?

The development of vaccines is the most important invention in the history of medicine. They have saved millions of lives - that is a fact.

There is always risk to any medical treatment - but parents who do not vaccinate their children are putting their children at risk for serious medical problems. Please do not put your trust in one or two people on the fringes of medicine who lack even a basic education in medicine. Why would you listen to such counsel? I truly do not understand...

When your car breaks down, do you take it to the grocery story? When your pipes get clogged, do you call your banker?
When your child is sick, do you take him to a political historian? I certainly hope not.

The author of this book has no medical education other than medical history. It was written with a political bent.
"Harris L. Coulter; Ph.D. - biography
# July 1969 - Awarded degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) by Columbia University, NY; dissertation title: Political and Social Aspects of Nineteenth-Century Medicine in the United States: The Formation of the American Medical Association and its Struggle with the Homeopathic and Eclectic Physicians.
# 1961 - Awarded M.A. by Columbia University, NY (Political Science).
# 1954 - Awarded B.A. by Yale University, CT (Russian Area Studies)."
from Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research

If you live near an old cemetery, just take a stroll sometime and look at the dates on the old headstones from the 1800's and you will get a first-hand look at the pre-vaccine era.

And if you decide not vaccinate your children, never let them leave the United States -- at least they benefit from herd immunity here.

BE SMART-DONT VACCINATE 2005-10-26
I read this book after I had already planned on not vaccinating. It still was a blessing. It has some heart wrenching stories about real families who were damaged by something that doctors say(really lie about) will protect you. My son had an adverse reaction to a vaccination. The doctors are either mis-informed or LIARS!!! Greedy for gain and they could care less about you. But I as a human being, who knows nothing about you is giving you advise: READ THIS BOOK AND OTHERS, DONT BE A FOLLOWER, YOUR CHILDRENS LIVES DEPEND ON IT, YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS ONE DAY, DONT EVER VACCINATE!!!!

A MUST READ BOOK-YOU WILL BE GLAD THAT YOU DID.
VERY WELL DOCUMENTED

Shame on Amazon.com!!! 2005-08-23
Shame on Amazon.com for including a link to a sanofi-pasteur ADVERTISEMENT for DPT vaccine in this book's listing information!
I am appalled that Amazon is so hard up for cash they must resort to taking blood-money from the corporations responsible for our children's nightmare. While we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars attempting to reverse the damage done to our children by this and other pharmaceutical companies, Amazon helps them to blow smoke to other unsuspecting parents and lull them into ignorant complacency regarding "government-recommended vaccinations". There is only ONE thing driving the govt's vaccination schedule, and that is MONEY.
And now these same companies add insult to injury (literally) by getting congress to pass laws to prevent them from owning up to their complicity in the damage done to our children?
Enough! Enough being a nation of sheep, all jumping off a cliff one after the other.
READ THIS BOOK and take it to heart! Your legislators (with few notable exceptions) don't care about your children, only their own deep pockets.
*Educate before you vaccinate*
*Your child...Your choice*
The message in this book (and others like it) NEEDS to be made common knowledge; the sooner the better for the health of America's children.