I love this book. I appreciate the realistic portrayal of Maurice Hilleman and his contemporaries, and how realistic the portrayal of the way vaccines were created in the 1950's, including the fact that the scientists tested out the vaccines on themselves and their families. I think I will always remember the pictures of Hilleman's daughters including the one who had been the host of the mumps virus that her father turned into a vaccine for mumps. It is officially called the Jeryl Lynn mumps strain even today. Hilleman encouraged his daughters to study science.

I also like Dr. Offit's style of writing.

One of many books that can be considered backlash as a result of people beginning to think for themselves and say no to govt. forced vaccinations. Unfortunately, it's just easier for the masses to give in and be had...and spoonfed someone else's opinion, rather than think for one's self, do the research and stand up against the bandwagon mentality of conforming to the popular rather than the rational. We live in NJ and trust our child's powerful immune system and our own ability as responsible parents to ensure and teach him proper hygiene, health and nutrition. Follow the money! and you'll uncover the corruption and the conflicts of interests...

Paul Offit is the co-inventor of a rotavirus vaccine recently recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC. In most places, this can mean vaccination at gunpoint.

Rotavirus should never be a fatal disease, it is spread by feces, like Polio. Dying of rotavirus means that the child was allowed to starve/dehydrate, and is a result of improper diagnoses and care. Most of the diseases that are vaccinated against could simply be prevented by not eating feces. Get that John Q Public? The food you eat pretty much has feces in it, and instead of clean up squalor, the biggest reason disease is much lower today is because of reduced squalor, instead they want to vaccinate (more profitable than cleaning up messes in society.)

Rotavirus - By the age of five, nearly every child in the world has been infected with rotavirus at least once. However, with each infection, immunity develops, subsequent infections are less severe, and adults are rarely affected. There are seven species of this virus, referred to as A, B, C, D, E, F and G. Rotavirus A, the most common, causes more than 90% of infections in humans.

Rotavirus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route.

Not only does Offit offer nothing in the way of solutions for real diseases like cancer, HIV, autism. He is adept at getting the UN and other world government organizations that watch more people killed in Darfur daily than all the people "saved" by a vaccine which "stops" a disease half of everyone by the age of 5 gets and has antibodies for , and is preventable by not eating feces, but he also has sock-puppets review his own books.

People. You've been had. Ever notice how militant vacciners get when you dont get them? If they work so bloody well, whats the big worry if my kids and I get sick and die then? Oh, they come up with excuses & the like. But here is the kicker. Get one of them to simply agree to be self-infected with a bloodstream injection of any of the diseases they claim to be immune against. They wont do it. Most diseases are simply trained to be stronger by the immune systems that have been primed by a vaccine. If its a septic infection or a different, deadlier strain, you'll die, vaccine or not.

In 20 years, vacciners will be like the blood letting barbers of the middle ages. Stupid arcane relics. And diseases will likely be a lot stronger, and any pandemics the vacciners will try and blame on people who refuse. (We people who are free of vaccines will probably survive the pandemic like the Jewish people did by salting the meats during the days of black plague).

This is the GREATEST book! I have bought 5 more for friends & family members. I wish EVERYONE would read this book- especially in this day & age when people are getting more wary of vaccines.

I think it's fair to say, given the population of the world as some 6 billion, that at least 100 million people have heard of Tiger Woods, or Bruce Willis, or Paris Hilton. But how many know of Maurice Hilleman?
The answer is in Offit's book which is about the idea of, the creation of, the development of, the efficacy of, vaccines and vaccinations. He points out that, due to the vaccines developed in the last fifty years, 'hundreds of millions of children' have been saved from death or serious debilitating illness. The vaccines include those against:
measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, pneumococcus, meningococcus, and haemophilus influenza type B (Hib).

Maurice Hilleman was the creator of ALL these vaccines.

Although Offit's book is about vaccines in general, Hilleman, naturally, figures very prominently, and a major part of the book is devoted to him.
Why he is not more well-known is discussed in the text, but why he was never awarded a Nobel Prize is that when he WAS nominated (for his work in interferon research), 'one member of the committee pointed out that the Nobel Prize in medicine would not be given to anyone who worked for a company', and most of Hilleman's professional life was as a very highly regarded employee - but nonetheless, an employee - of Merck.

This is recommended almost as strongly as David Bainbridge's "Beyond the Zonules of Zinn". It may not be as well-written nor as witty, but it is probably more important in telling the story of a hero who willingly allowed himself to be part of the background because of his inherent modesty.

As a Public Health professional I loved this book and learned a lot about the origins of these vaccines. The message that these diseases are waiting in the wings and that continued vaccination of the population is our best defense is a message more concerned parents need to be aware of. Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B and A, chicken pox and Pertussis still harm and yes kill today (albeit on a smaller scale due to the widespread use of vaccines in this country). I consider myself lucky to be born at a time when I could receive the benefit of these developments. And I am grateful that my own daughter has received disease protection also. In one generation Hepatitis B and Polio could be eliminated as small pox was with safe vaccine practice. A great read about a man who has done more for the world than all the professional athletes and Hollywood stars ever will.

I found this to be a fascinating book, very accessibly written. The accessibility is important -- with vaccines under attack on several fronts, it is vital that laypeople be able to understand how important the contributions of men like Hilleman are to public health.

If this book has a flaw it is that Dr. Offit carried his heart on his sleeve -- the fact that he reveres Maurice Hilleman as a hero is evident on every page. Personally, though, this didn't alter my enjoyment of the book, although I suppose that it does undercut the book's scholarly standing. For myself, I agree with Dr. Offit that Hilleman is one of the unsung heroes of our age.

Vaccinated's main point is well taken. The ability to eliminate through vaccination, major debilitating diseases, is one of the greatest achievements of the past century. Nonetheless, the author's writing leaves much to be desired. Written chronologically, the book is more apt as a eulogy of Hilleman's achievements than as a description of the man. And when each chapter, which typically describe a single disease, is composed in the same fashion, I can't help but feel like I am rereading passages. I refuse to believe that Hilleman's quest nor his personality was so two dimensional.

The book is written by a top expert in the field who also developed one of the latest vaccine. And Dr.Offit's writing style is very engaging and yet succint and straight. I am from an engineering background, and I valued the content-to-word ratio(how dense is the content). And Dr.Offit's book beats my yardstick to the ground. It is content heavy yet very engaging. Also Dr.Hilleman's life story spearks for itself too. Salute to Dr. Offit for letting Dr.Hilleman's achievement recognized by more people. Highly recommend.

This book provides a the history of modern vaccines in a fascinating, clear, easy to read narrative. Dr. Hilleman was truely one of the greatest men of the last century, and Dr. Offit has written a beautiful book about him.

This book was fascinating and kept me reading til the very end. US citizens forget how fortunate we are to have the luxury of vaccination. This book was a good reminder of the dreaded diseases so many people continue to face in the world around us.

Many diseases of old have become so rare that people now often fear the vaccine more than the disease itself. This book gives a window into what life was like before the introduction of vaccines as well as the challenges involved in creating them. The book also provides an interesting contrast in terms of how vaccines are developed today versus yesteryear.

While I often speed read books, Offit has an engaging style that kept my eyes glued to every page. If you have interest in history or medicine or just are looking for a book to entertain and educate you, I can highly recommend Vaccinated.