With the H1N1 and the upcoming seasonal influenza season, this is interesting timing for National Immunization Awareness Month.
National Immunization Awareness Month is brought to the public’s awareness by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) in an effort to educate people about the importance of immunizations, whether for infants or seniors, and what immunizations are given in what order.
Vaccines are given for illnesses that are preventable. The ones most people know about are for the childhood illnesses, like measles, or accidental illnesses, like tetanus, but there are many more vaccines available. Not all North Americans need all vaccines, but some may …read more

A few months ago, Sarah Collins Honenberger joined in the discussion about whether the HPV vaccine Gardasil should be mandated for American girls. Shortly thereafter, she was kind enough to send me her novel, White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception, which is inspired by the real-life events of North Carolina mother Lacy Kellam, whose baby experiences seizures and ultimately debilitating brain damage as a result of receiving the government-mandated DPT vaccine in the late 1960s.
Despite the obvious negative light in which this book paints mandatory vaccines, Honenberger is not explicitly anti-vaccine. She’s pro-education for parents.