Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines .

In Calling the shots: Why parents reject vaccines, Jennifer Reich uses her extensive experience in examining how families navigate state policy, as well as having to navigate vaccines in her personal life, to present in-depth perspectives of vaccination. Views from a wide range of participants are presented, including those from parents (who accepted either none or only some vaccines for their children, or accepted vaccination on a schedule of their own design); healthcare providers; researchers; attorneys; policy makers; and advocates. Various methods were used to collect data over seven years and included in-depth interviews; ethnographic observation; and content analysis. Reich is a Sociologist with extensive clinical knowledge about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. She is honest and clear about her position as pro-vaccination, having vaccinated her own children, but balances this by acknowledging that vaccines do have side effects (giving voice to those who say they have experiencedthem) and having an empathetic and understanding approach to the wide ranges of views and concerns she encounters. Despite occasionally repetitive arguments, this book is filled with fascinating insights gained through participant narratives, aimed to fill the middle ground between opposing views by providing a better understanding of how different people approach vaccines. Reich also offers suggestions for how policy-makers and healthcare professionals can work with, rather than against those with vaccine concerns