A Shot in the Dark

by Barbara Loe Fisher, Harris L. Coulter, Barbara L. Coulter, Harris L.; Fisher

Traces the developmnet of the DPT vaccine, describes its risks, and lists warning signs that a child may be sensitive to it. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 089529463X
• ISBN13: 9780895294630
• Release Date: May 1991
• Publisher: Avery Publishing Group
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Still Relevant in DTaP age

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 Yes, this book IS STILL VERY RELEVANT in a world where DTP has been replaced by DTaP.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

It will make you question.

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.

Do not fail to read this book!

This book is a MUST read for parents and parents-to-be. If it has ever even occured to you that the medical system is not infallible, this book will open your eyes to a reality that most people would prefer to ignore. Vaccinations DO cause temporary and permanent damage to children every year in this country, and many of the diseases against which we are vaccinated are not as frightening as the damage caused by the vaccinations themselves.This book focuses solely on the DTaP vaccination. There are many case histories of children who were permanently brain damaged and even killed by this vaccination. In some cases more than one child in a family has been permanently injured. In others parents have had to fight in court to retain custody of their younger children when they refused to vaccinate them following severe reactions in their older children.The companies that manufacture vaccinations are making millions of dollars per year. When a child has a permanently debilitating reaction to a vaccine, the manufacturer is not even held financially responsible - the government uses our tax dollars to compensate families through an official program called the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Would this program even exist if it weren't obvious that vaccines DO cause damage in some instances?This book gives great information about the kinds of children who are more likely to react to vaccinations, including those who were born prematurely or with a low birth weight, those from families with allergies and food sensitivities, and those who had family members experience vaccine reactions. It also describes in great detail the kinds of reactions one can expect from vaccinations - and which ones should not be considered "normal" despite what your pediatrician's office may tell you. If your child has received some vaccinations already and you feel uncomfortable about any symptoms he or she exhibited in the days following, READ THIS BOOK before you allow any further vaccinations. MANY children who were eventually permanently injured exhibited reactions to earlier vaccinations that were ignored or considered unimportant until hindsight provided the obvious answer.

This book should be required reading for parents

When I read A Shot in the Dark I was both saddened and enraged. Saddened because I have a vaccine-damaged child and enraged that the government, the medical establishment, and pharmaceutical companies use our children as guinea pigs. This is one of the most well-researched books I have ever read and I strongly urge any person who has received vaccines themselves or has children (or intends to have children) to read this book and investigate this issue for themselves. I only wish I had access to this book before my daughter was born.

Pertussis Vaccine side effects are real and have been hidden

I am an RN, and have been taking care of a child with seizures, and brain damage for over a year now. The parents gave me his history. The theory was that the seizures and developmental problems, which started after 3 months of age in an otherwise totally normal child until that time, were caused by the pertussis vaccine. There was never a way to prove his problems were due to the vaccine, although all tests on the child and parents were negative as to any cause. I cared for this child for a year before I read the book. I was amazed at the similarity of his history with that of many other children in the book, and when I finished reading the book, there was no question in my mind that this child's problems were due exclusively to the vaccine. Anyone considering parenthood,are pregnant, have newborns,are grandparents; owe it to themselves to read this book. Be informed of the side effects so your child won't be one of the statistics. There are other alternatives, and also the new acellular vaccine is available now, but only to those who ask until the old vaccine is no longer available.