Our Favorite Pro-Vaccine Resources
With so much information at our fingertips, sometimes it can be hard to figure out which resources are the most helpful. We have shared some of our favorite websites, books, products, videos, and more.
Books
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Children
Baby Medical School - Vaccines by Clara and Jon Florance
Recommended Age Range: 0-4 years
Inside your body, you have a lot of little helpers that work together to keep you healthy. Vaccines are super helpers that make your immune system even stronger! But how? And with what? This baby biology book, written by experts Cara and Jon Florance, uses whimsical artwork and humorous text to create a love for science the next generation of geniuses will carry for a lifetime!
Recommended Age Range: 2-6 years
A shot can be a little frightening―but it’s quick, as quick as lightning!
When Maxine tells her pets, “Let’s get to the vet!”
Scott does not want a shot.
Jervis is nervous, Franky is cranky, Biffy is iffy, and Cary is wary.
Can Maxine help her critters get over their jitters. . . ?
Andre’s Armor A Fun and easy way to learn how shots (vaccines) work! by Mohamed Jalloh, PharmD
Recommended Age Range: 4-8 years
Andre doesn’t want to get his shots...until he learns how they work to protect his body! Tag along with Andre and discover the exciting way our body protects itself from germ monsters using armor and shields created from shots.
Also available in Spanish La Armadura De Andre
How do Vaccines Work? by Katrina Liu
Recommended Age Range: 3-6 years
Getting a shot can stir up a lot of fear in little ones. This beautifully illustrated STEM book turns something scary into an engaging and informative story so kids can learn the science behind immunizations. This story will help ease anxiety and prepare them for their doctor's visit.
A Vaccine is Like a Memory by Rajanni Larocca, MD
Recommended Age Range: 4-10 years
Do you remember every time you've been sick?
You may not, but your body does! With many illnesses, you can't get sick more than once because your body remembers and fights it off before you get sick again. But what if your body could recognize germs that you've never had before so you don't get ill? There's where vaccines come in! This book comes complete with extensive back matter all about types of germs and vaccines.
Sophia & the Shot by Sarah Wilson, PNP
Recommended Age Range: 3-8 years
The night before her doctor's appointment, five year old Sofia worries about the shot she knows she'll have to get. As she drifts off to sleep, Sofia finds herself on an adventure with her trusted guide Mr. Whiskers, who is eager to teach her the history and purpose of vaccines. The pair sail across the ocean learning important lessons about vaccines at each stop they make. By the end of their adventure, Sofia realizes the importance of getting vaccines, and the next day she goes to the doctor's office prepared to get her shot!
The Secret Life of Viruses by Mariona Toloso Sistere and Ellas Educan Collective
Recommended Age Range: 4-12 years
Packed with fascinating facts and science, The Secret Life of Viruses teaches young readers all about: What viruses are and where they live, how vaccines work and how your body fights viruses, why pandemics happen, how to stop the spread of viruses and stay healthy, and more!
Viruses are all around us―but it's not as scary as it sounds! This is the perfect book to ease fears and empower kids with knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.
Not a Shot! A story of Overcoming Fear with Gabby & Nicky by Jannesy Deleon
Recommended Age Range: 5-7 years
"We're getting your shots today," Gabby's mom says. Gabby glances at her brother and sees his eyes fill with fear. Can she be brave enough for both of them today?
Recommended Age Range: 4-8 years
Jonas Salk wasn't seen as a brave hero―not at first. As a child he was quiet and unassuming, but Jonas dreamed of tikkun olam, the Jewish phrase for “healing the world.” He saw the polio virus strike his city, and he knew that with determination and hard work, he could be the one to stop its spread. So he grew up to study medicine, ultimately creating the polio vaccine that saved untold numbers of lives―and healed the world!
Parents
Your Baby’s Best Shot: Why Vaccines are Safe and Save Lives by Stacy Mintzer Herliny and E. Allison Hagood
Your Baby’s Best Shot is written for the parent who does not have a background in science, research, or medicine, and who is confused and overwhelmed by the massive amount of information regarding the issue of child vaccines. New parents are worried about the decisions that they are making regarding their children’s health, and this work helps them wade through the information they receive in order to help them understand that vaccinating their child is actually one of the simplest and smartest decisions that they can make.
Covering such topics as vaccine ingredients, how vaccines work, what can happen when populations don’t vaccinate their children, and the controversies surrounding supposed links to autism, allergies, and asthma, the authors provide an overview of the field in an easy to understand guide for parents.
Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad by Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD
In 1994, Peter J. Hotez's nineteen-month-old daughter, Rachel, was diagnosed with autism. Dr. Hotez, a pediatrician-scientist who develops vaccines for neglected tropical diseases affecting the world's poorest people, became troubled by the decades-long rise of the influential anti-vaccine community and its inescapable narrative around childhood vaccines and autism.
In Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism, Hotez draws on his experiences as a pediatrician, vaccine scientist, and father of an autistic child. Outlining the arguments on both sides of the debate, he examines the science that refutes the concerns of the anti-vaccine movement, debunks current conspiracy theories alleging a cover-up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and critiques the scientific community's failure to effectively communicate the facts about vaccines and autism to the general public, all while sharing his very personal story of raising a now-adult daughter with autism.
Vaccines and Your Child by Paul A. Offit, MD and Charlotte A. Moser
Paul A. Offit and Charlotte A. Moser answer questions about the science and safety of modern vaccines. In straightforward prose, they explain how vaccines work, how they are made, and how they are tested. Most important, they separate the real risks of vaccines from feared but unfounded risks.
Offit and Moser address parental fears that children may receive too many vaccines too early, that the HPV vaccine may cause chronic fatigue or other dangerous side effects, that additives and preservatives in vaccines cause autism, and that vaccines might do more harm than good. There couldn't be a better moment or more pressing need for this book, which offers honestyinstead of hypein the quest to protect children's health.
Teens and Adults
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells--taken without her knowledge in 1951--became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remain virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
Vaccinated: From Cowpox to mRNA, the Remarkable Story of Vaccines by Paul A. Offit, MD
Maurice Hilleman’s mother died a day after he was born and his twin sister was stillborn. Believing that he had escaped an appointment with death, he made it his life’s work to see that others could do the same. The fruits of his labors were nine vaccines that practically every child receives, everyday miracles of modern medicine that have eradicated some of the most common—and devastating—diseases, including mumps and rubella.
Offit, a vaccine researcher himself who co-invented the rotavirus vaccine, befriended Hilleman and, during the great man’s final months, interviewed him extensively about his life and career. Those conversations are the heart of Vaccinated.
The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution by Andrew M. Wehrman
This thought-provoking history offers a new dimension to our understanding of both the American Revolution and the origins of public health in the United States. The miraculous discovery of vaccination in the early 1800s posed new challenges that upended the revolutionaries' dream of disease eradication, and Wehrman reveals that the quintessentially American rejection of universal health care systems has deeper roots than previously known. During a time when some of the loudest voices in the United States are those clamoring against efforts to vaccinate, this richly documented book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of medicine and politics, or who has questioned government action (or lack thereof) during a pandemic.
Websites
Tennessee Health and Policy
Vaccine Education
“Through our websites, videos, informational tear sheets, e-newsletters, webinars and speaker programs, we seek to dispel some of the common misconceptions and misinformation surrounding vaccines. The goal of our effort is to communicate the facts about each vaccine as well as how vaccines are made, how and why vaccines work, who recommends them, whether they are safe, whether they are still necessary, and when they should be given. We have also developed educational materials for elementary, middle, high school and college students.”
“Vaccinate Your Family’s mission is to protect people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases. VYF builds on the important legacy of Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Former First Lady of Arkansas Betty Bumpers.”
“Families Fighting Flu educates about the seriousness of influenza and the importance of annual vaccination so that no one suffers serious flu complications or death.Learn about the virus, flu vaccines, and how to protect those you love.”
“VMP has developed a variety of school-based curricula to educate students about how the immune system works, how diseases develop and how vaccines work to prevent them. While the immediate goal is to provide teachers with the information and tools necessary to teach this scientific success story, the greater opportunity is not only to immunize our country’s next generation of parents against the misconceptions around vaccine safety, but also to equip them to critically evaluate the multitude of science-based topics central to how we live on and interact with this planet.”
Videos
Documentaries and Other Videos
Before anyone had heard of COVID-19, filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy (THE GARDEN, FOOD EVOLUTION) began investigating the global measles epidemic. Filming with top public health officials–including Tony Fauci–as well as rare interviews with anti-vaccine activists who were persuading parents by the millions to refuse vaccines for their children.
Then COVID-19 happened.
Acting quickly, Kennedy shifted his directorial eye to this once-in-a-century tragedy. Both skeptical and hopeful, SHOT IN THE ARM explores vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of our modern pandemic. Can we replace cynicism with healthy curiosity and bridge the political divides that make us sick?
Directed by Donald Rayne Mitchell and co-produced by Gloria Lewis, HILLEMAN – A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children, tells the inspiring story of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, a man with a singular, unwavering focus — to eliminate the diseases of children. From his poverty-stricken youth on the plains of Montana, he came to prevent pandemic flu, invent the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and develop the first-ever vaccine against human cancer. Through exclusive interviews with Dr. Hilleman and his peers, rare archival footage, and 3-D animations, the film puts a human face to vaccine science, revealing the character that drove this bold, complex, and heroic man.
Products
**As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links.
