Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines

Honorable Mention, 2017 ESS Mirra Komarovsky Book Award presented by the Eastern Sociological Society

Outstanding Book Award for the Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity presented by the American Sociological Association

A rich, multi-faceted examination into the attitudes and beliefs of parents who choose not to immunize their children  

For over a decade, Jennifer Reich has been studying the phenomenon of  vaccine refusal from the perspectives of parents who distrust vaccines and the corporations that make them, as well as the health care providers and policy makers who see them as essential to ensuring community health.  Reich reveals how parents who opt out of vaccinations see their decision:  what they fear, what they hope to control, and what they believe is in their child’s best interest.  Based on interviews with parents who fully reject vaccines as well as those who believe in “slow vax,” or altering the number of and time between vaccinations, the author provides a fascinating account of these parents’ points of view.

Placing these stories in dialogue with those of pediatricians who see the devastation that can be caused by vaccine-preventable diseases and the policy makers who aim to create healthy communities, Calling the Shots offers a unique opportunity to understand the points of disagreement on what is best for children, communities, and public health, and the ways in which we can bridge these differences.