Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak

by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Brian Hooker

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

The Studies the CDC Refuses to Do
 
This book is based on over one hundred studies in the peer-reviewed literature that consider vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations. Each study is analyzed, and health differences among infants, children, and adults who have been vaccinated and those who have not are presented and put in context. Readers will find information
   
Given the massive push to vaccinate the entire global population, this book is timely and necessary for individuals to make informed choices for themselves and their families.

 

Genres: Health, Science, Nonfiction, Vaccines, Medicine, Medical, Reference

304 pages, Hardcover

Published August 29, 2023

About the author

Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. is an American activist, environmental attorney, and author. Kennedy serves as president of the board of Waterkeeper Alliance, a non-profit environmental group that he helped found in 1999.

He is the third of eleven children of Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_....

Reviews

[Thomas S Curry]

I have to take my hat off to RFK, Jr. for this unbelievably well researched piece of work.
As a 72 year old man who has voted more times for Republican candidates than I ever have for Democratic ones (I wanted to dispel thoughts that my remarks have a political agenda)… I’m going to encourage everyone to put down their Left vs. Right swords and read this as a responsible parent and grandparent. I like many of you, have become weary of the practice of canceling individuals and labeling everyone’s views which might be different than our own without ever listening to what the person says in their own words. This is an enlightening and deeply researched work encompassing several decades of changing views and practices of vaccine protocol in the US and the world.
First of all. Remove from your mind that RFK, Jr. is an anti-vaxxer….he is a highly intelligent proponent of rigorous and responsible vaccination testing and practices…no more, no less. His demands (all reasonable, and this is just a small list) include that the drug companies do not get to make up their own rules regarding the measurement of vaccine safety and efficacy, that VAERS and VSD bring their monitoring and collection databases up to today’s standards so that collection, reporting and dissemination of vaccine adverse events are not phony and under-reported, and that FDA start applying the same rules to vaccine Random Controlled Trials that are required for the approval of common cancer and diabetes drugs that are on the market today. Secondly, this is not a “vaccine leads to autism” piece of work. I think you will be stunned as I was about the plethora of studies and the extensive laundry list of impairments tied to vaccines…..and most importantly….the data in this book is backed by rigorous statistical methodologies, extensively footnoted, and cited in respected medical journals that will leave even the math nerds spinning in their chairs.
For anyone interested in educating themselves and their families about how vaccines have and continue to impact public health issues in our world…this is a must read!

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book deserves 0 stars. If you do your research on this book you will discover that all of these “studies” are riddled with issues- so many so that most medical journals have retracted these studies claiming that they are not valid due to poor methodology. This book is nothing short of an appalling scare tactic based on unreliable studies that have zero credibility. It’s so dangerous that these authors are spreading false information that can, and will, become dangerous if it is to be believed by those who are not adequately educated in science. In comparison to these handful of “studies” that claim that vaccines harm people are THOUSANDS of studies (that are actually well performed and verified) that prove that vaccines are beneficial and life saving and that they have zero correlation to developmental disorders or have detrimental immunosuppression effects. Please don’t waste your money on this garbage “science” book.

[JonM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The field of Medical Care has become a religion in this uniquely industrialized era of history; it has its own hierarchy with its own cathedrals, priests of culture, deacons of dogmas, and altar servers for sacraments; its own universities, classrooms, and seminarians are now noticeably abundant and prolific; even it’s catechisms and systematic textbooks are standardized for the masses to venerate for generations to come. However, those in charge of the medical field have much better marketing campaigns than almost every other religion in the world. It has a seemingly bottomless budget, too.

In “Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak”, one gets the impression that the author is extremely familiar with this newly marketed religion, but not the first to address its rise as an empire of thought. Instead of being an outside critic of a competing religion, the knowledge and understanding (I.e., “science”) presented herein demonstrates great familiarity from inside the newly globalized religion, as one who was a former catechumen, worshiper, and seminarian surrounded by all sorts of revered clergy.

Wonderfully, the “Science” presented in this book is not an apologetic for another religion (“anti-vax”); instead, it is an apologetic for those within the religion (so to speak), and an invitation to discuss and understand their own self-aggrandizing “science” side-by-side with the “science” of healthier, well-respected, and widely acknowledged alternatives. Unvaccinated human beings are, scientifically, healthier than those vaccinated. Let the science speak for itself.

[Patrick Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much subterfuge going on at the CDC! The more I read about the agency, the more disgusted I become. The CDC refused to implement changes to its VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System) program, which would enable users to more easily access the site and report reactions to various vaccines. Another HHS agency provided study results that show the vaccine injury rate is actually a shocking 10%, but with the CDC sticking its head in the sand, their rate is just 1%. No news is good news, I guess. Their conduct is criminal, but I don't see how any effective changes can be made when the employees are basically in bed with the pharmaceutical companies. This book provides numerous studies and results showing vaccinations can cause immunological and neurological damage to children and adults alike. People should do their research and formulate their own opinions and not rely on the false mainstream narrative being pushed upon us.

[SusieSide · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book should be available to all expectant mothers and parents. Everyone has the right to be informed of their choices. Everyone has the right to not be fooled by Big Pharma and the pockets they line. Well done, RFK Jr. Thank you for this hard work and compiling all this data and making it available for the masses. I hope the publication of this book doesn’t get blocked.

[Valentina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal note: Let me begin with three truths: I’m a bit of an RFKjr fan so I might sound biased, I was vaccinated by my parents (Hepatitis B, Varicella, Measles & Diphtheria), and I did not get vaccinated for Covid. Not for some political agenda, I was legit just lazy and kept putting off with plans of getting it, but eventually leading to no longer it being a necessity. Irresponsible you may say? Maybe in 2020. Now? I don’t know. I remember how political the Covid vaccine became, and the amount of judgments around such a demand, from both sides. With everything that is coming out now 4 years after the pandemic, I felt like I needed to read a book that summarized why there was even a concern in the first place back then, leading to the lawsuits now. Not to define any preconceived notions I might have had 4 years ago, or to dismiss any lingering guilt/shame of not getting the COVID vaccine, but to have a better understanding of why the controversy existed in the first place. And I got pretty tired of friends and family giving me the old “it’s all a conspiracy! These people have no idea what they are talking about!” reasoning as to why I shouldn’t bother questioning let alone considering the opposing side. Come to find out, RFKjr has been on it. So of course, I dove in starting with his perspective.

Review: What can I say? The guy is pretty brilliant. And you have to admit, a bit courageous to go up against the pharmaceutical industry. What I liked about this book is that for the large amount of heavy information provided, it was digestible. Sources are given which help the reader look into themselves whether it can be credible or not. I would consider it more of a textbook vs a casual non fictional read, but all important information nonetheless to AT LEAST consider. Our bodies are such a complicated system, but just like people doubt chiropractors and herb healers, we should be free to doubt these direct chemicals being injected into our bodies without the fear of someone coming after our throats. I think this book is at least a start, but not the end.

[Evan Slops · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically a collection of studies and a couple letters at the end. But it’s nice to have all of these studies and data put together, makes me feel like I’m less crazy and have a leg to stand on scientifically.

[Sandra Rebholz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is just more garbage for the anti-vaxers to feast upon. I can't believe the utter nonsense that they are trying to say is good science. Their brand of "science" does speak for itself--it says that they are a bunch of idiots!

[Justin Desmarais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative with lots of studies and their results.

[Alex Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yikes

[Alex Dimaio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent quality. The publisher did well. The content is heavy but the authors make the information accessible. It’s an important book and the courage to press it is more than commendable. RFKjr2024!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent information. It’s sad how so many believe the propaganda about vaccinations. It’s good to see real science being done. This should be required reading for all parents. Then, if you still want to vaccinate your children it’s truly an informed choice.

[Ellie Coleman]

I didn’t *actually* finish it but I decided I was done. Got the jist. Too many numbers and if these studies are true - I’m speechless honestly.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of great information in here. I have been skeptical about vaccines for years. Now I am completely against them. Not against the idea of vaccines, but the ingredients do more harm than good in my opinion.

[MJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh oh! Someone's a radical. RFK's main question-why the US doesn't safety test any of the 70 mandatory vaccines is a valid one. This book is largely comparing studies and looking for correlations which was extremely tedious to read.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blindly trusting conventional wisdom is unscientific and potentially dangerous. But blindly trusting RFK Jr., who is now the top health official in the U.S. government, is also just blindly trusting. So I tried to approach this book with an open mind and open eyes.

The central premise of the title is reasonable: vaccines, like all medicines, should be rigorously tested to show that they do more good than harm. Who doesn't want vaccines to be as safe and effective as possible? This book looks like it would be a dream for people who care about scientific evidence. Pretty much every page contains a big graph, the title of the graph, a legend for the graph, and a brief paragraph about the graph including bibliographic information. Yes, graphs! So many many graphs!

Unfortunately, the content details are just bizarre. Whether from malice or incompetence, there doesn't seem to be much effort made to differentiate between strong and weak evidence, or to give context to interpret the data in the graphs.

To give one example, Fig. 3-8 is about harms from thimerosal, which is a mercury-containing chemical that was used in routine childhood vaccines in the past. The graph cites an article from the New England Journal of Medicine by a reputable CDC scientist. In the book, it's implied that this impressive article shows that thimerosal in vaccines is harmful because the study found an increased risk of tics with increased exposure to thimerosal. So I looked up that paper: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...

The actual conclusion in the paper is "Our study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines ... and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years." It turns out the study looked at a whole bunch of different outcomes in kids. Some of the problems seemed to get better with thimersosal, some worse. Overall it was a wash. It's misleading to pick out one line from the huge results table without discussing the rest. It's possible that the study author is wrong about his own paper, but then you need to make that case. If this paper is valid for one line about harm from thimerosal, then it's right about the parts where it finds benefits from thimerosal. You can't have it both ways and say this paper is solid on this line but worthless on the others.

In any case, thimerosal has been taken out of the routine chidhood vaccines. So if thimerosal was the reason for the big increase in autism and such, then those neurological problems should have gone way down since then. That would have been important context to provide. (Yes, there is still thimerosal in some flu shots, but then one needs to do the math and show what that dose of mercury is vs. the previous routine exposure.)

I could keep going on about the problems with this one page from the book, but I think you get the picture. This is where a serious literature review would discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this graph and the paper it refers to, and put it in the context of what is known. Doctors in training do things called "journal clubs" where they spend a few hours taking apart one journal article to learn how to read the medical literature. I don't have the time to do that for every graph in this book. No reader should have to. But if you have some background in science you can maybe do it for one study as I did, and see for yourself with your own eyes if these graphs are accurate representations of high quality evidence.



Alternatives:
Polio: An American Story
Bad Science
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
Science Fictions
How to Lie with Statistics
The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It
Smallpox: The Death of a Disease - The Inside Story of Eradicating a Worldwide Killer

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Israeli book Turtles All the Way Down demonstrated that vaccines were never tested against a real placebo. Instead, they used aluminum or a different vaccine. This book sought to help with that problem.

The authors went through the studies trying to find studies that intentionally or accidentally studied vaccinated vs unvacinated. Each chapter was summeries of studies on a subject with relevant graphs.

It was interesting. I hoped for more commentary. It wasn't the best way to start learning about vaccine issues, but an interesting addition.

[Timothy Krimmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye Opener

Robert Kennedy Jr lays a compelling case around why vaccine safety needs to be studied. He also pointed me to Dr. Paul's book, the vaccine friendly plan, which further increased my knowledge and understanding on the issue of vaccines.

[Hannah OBoyle]

Summarized many powerful and eye opening study findings and highlighted the existing gaping holes in research about childhood vaccines. Has helped me and my young family become better critical consumers of our healthcare system.

[Evan Buehler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content was majority a bunch of studies. Lots of graphs to visualize the impact of vaccines. Wish there was more commentary outside of throwing numbers and statistical data. I skipped a lot of the reading because it was redundant. Content and material was good, presentation was not good.

[Jennifer Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is eye opening.... I only wish I had known of this author and his organization prior to covid! He provides so much documentation to all of his books. He makes a valid case to all his theories.

Never in my life had I considered that vaccines were anything other than safe. I recall having plenty of them in my life. But then I took 3 doses of moderna, and my whole life was thrown into turmoil. Heart palpitations, chest pains, breathing issues, trouble maintaining employment.... and before you ask, according to my test results, I had never had covid.

From months prior to taking the vaccine, I researched them, as my intuition was telling me not to take them. I couldn't find anything negative online. Nothing except 100% safe and effective from every GOV and media source. So I took them to protect my sick loved ones as my government had 'guilted me' to do.

As the years passed, and my health continued to deteriorate, I kept researching only to find out there had been a major censorship campaign orchestrated my government using mainstream media, social media, and internet providers to hide anything negative related to the vaccine for years.

Today this is all a matter of public record, and the censorship has been lifted. you can find mention of negative adverse effects mentioned online. But during covid.... not a word was allowed and labeled misinformation when it wasn't.

By the time I connected the dots to come to realize all my symptoms I had, and am still having all these years later, are identical to the adverse events noted in the covid vaccines. Unfortunately to me, and millions of others who may have had a vaccine injury, there is only a three year window to file with the 'government run' vaccine compensation injury program.

What I have learned in my research that I didn't know for any of the vaccines I had taken in my lifetime, is that the vaccine manufacturers have 100% immunity from prosecution for injury, or death.

Taxpayers fund the government program, if you can prove your case going up against the government, will only provide a maximum of $250,000 relief. That's it!

I only wish I had known about the potential dangers prior to taking the shots. While they may not have killed me like they did to others who developed myocarditis, and heart attacks, the vaccines literally destroyed my life as I once knew it.

This book is full of knowledge every human being on this planet should be reading prior to injecting themselves, or their children!

We never recognize the dangers until it happens to us, or someone you love. By then it's too late.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not nearly as readable as “The Real Anthony Fauci” this newest book from RFK Jr. is no less important. “The Real Anthony Fauci” is a linear journey from the beginning of his career, to his impact with the AIDs epidemic, up to his now infamous part in the COVID pandemic. This book has no narrative; it’s merely an incredibly detailed reference guide to studies comparing health outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups after various vaccinations.

Similarly, to “The Real Anthony Fauci” the data RFK Jr. presents is easy to digest at a glance, damning, and meticulously cited and researched. He utilizes peer reviewed studies sourced from the CDC or the international equivalent, performed by various universities, leading individuals in the healthcare industry, and massive companies such as Kaiser Permanente. You don’t need anything higher than an elementary school education to recognize there is massive corruption in the healthcare industry as a whole, let alone the childhood vaccination schedule. If we have such an incredible healthcare set up in the US, why do 50% of children have chronic disease? Why does the US have the highest infant mortality rate in the world?

With trust in the healthcare industry at an all-time low and growing since COVID, I’ve become convinced the only thing the industry could do to win someone like me back would be to actually conduct the vaxxed vs. unvaxxed studies RFK Jr. begs for in this book to settle the debate once and for all. Why can’t we have a study on the effects of bombarding young children with handfuls of chemicals in the childhood vaccine schedule like RFK Jr. asks for? We all know this won’t happen as money and power are too powerful an influence and the fallout would be massive. RFK Jr.’s book is an eye-opening collection of data as a counter to the constant “trust me bro” of the bought and paid for big pharma shills.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Vax-Unvax" looks at the scientific studies that show differences in the health of vaccinated children compared to unvaccinated children. The studies usually were focused on a specific shot (DTP, MMR, HPV, flu, etc.). The authors included graphs to illustrate the differences and indicated the statistically significance of the results. All the included studies had results that indicated a real pattern. Results included an increased incidence in vaccinated children of issues like type 1 diabetes and developmental delays to asthma, ADHD, ear infections, and food allergies.

I've been curious for a while if anyone had tested the claim that vaccines have resulted in healthier children, so I was interested in reading about these studies. I've known for several years that vaccines weren't primarily responsible for the decreases in the diseases they're credited with suppressing (increased sanitation played a major role) and that the vaccines can have severe side effects in some people. I found these studies very interesting. I'd recommend this book to everyone as I think it's high time people had an honest talk about this rather than just assuming vaccines = less disease = healthier people. I believe people should be allowed informed choices rather than just given untested statements.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this book would be more readable like, The Real Anthony Fauci" but this is a dry factual book. For those of us who are not "numbers" people it was lacking "bottom lines" for all of the statistics. Yes, each chapter had a summary, but those summaries were also dry and lacking any attempt to put the results into context for real life and for impacts on health. I understand the "p-value" was explained at the beginning, but again, most of us do not have experience translating this into what this looks like in the real world. The book ends with letters in legal-eze that once again needed translating to mean much to me. I am a huge fan of RFK Jr. and the work he is doing. This is a good reference book for parents needing some ammunition to keep their children free of vaccines. The book was disappointing is that it didn't provide context or real world examples of harm that would have made it more meaningful to me.

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

VAX-UNVAX is a must read for everyone, whatever side of the issue you think you are on. It's a little technical at times, and does a wonderful job of clearly explaining methodologies and why scientific studies are done certain ways.

Hooker and Kennedy clearly explain the results of these studies, but really I think the point is that they have collected, in one place, dozens of studies for many different drugs/treatments (because that is what vaccines are) on vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations, and they lay out the results for all to see. Regardless of your views on vaccines, you will likely agree with some results and disagree with others.

VAX-UNVAX explains very well the meaning of each part of each study. Be sure to read or mark the opening pages to refer back to as you progress through the book. This book is important, interesting, and informative. Highly, highly recommend.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure how to rate this because I'm not used to reading scientific books so I don't know how this compares to others. I do think their explanations at the beginning were helpful for understanding the studies that were presented in the book. I think the evidence provided and the great lack of evidence is very alarming. If you're not a science person but you're interested in knowing where RFK is coming from, you can just read the beginning and the ending. It seems very clear that vaccines need to be reevaluated and studied anew. There are so many medical practices that were developed 100 years ago that we no longer use or that have been updated, so why not vaccines? After reading this, I'm not anti-vaxx but I do feel like the medical and pharmaceutical systems we have in place are very corrupt. So I'm planning on checking out the website "just the inserts" to further study this on my own.

[Laurie Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to it on Audible so much of it went over my head - I have a bad habit of tuning out oral numbers and the body of the book is numerical data. However, I felt it was worth my time. I understand the issues at stake much better.

I wonder how many other people my age (late sixties) fail to realize how different vaccines are from what we remember - the vastly increased vaccine schedule and the loosened safety guidelines.

"Anti-vaxers" are not always against vaccines per se, so much as the failure to put safety first. And post covid, this is also my position. Well... maybe I was already pretty well there with flu shots.

I found the appendixes particularly interesting.

[Michael Jolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the middle of summer/fall of 2020, someone said: “This is all going to come down to vaccine efficacy. That will be the next phase.” (And whoever told me that - they were right). With the COVID hysteria having pass, this book is a byproduct of the heated vaccine debate that dominated in 2021 and early 2022. “Vax-Unvax” is not ideal for cover-to-cover reading (like I did), and serves better as a reference book, going through 30-plus years of statistics on a wide variety of vaccines in the U.S. and overseas.

[Kristen Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely just research articles. You don’t get a lot of background on research articles and how to read and understand them, they are explained okay in this book but not that well. I have a psychology degree so I have read and understand research studies and this was still hard to follow at times and then just got boring. The research had interesting parts and you can understand the correlations, I just wish it was put together better. Informative but you can skim through it and get the point.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of charts and graphs in this book, plus dry fact reading. However, this was all interesting information about ingredients that go into vaccines and how they're tested. I feel like I have more information about what vaccines are--medical procedures with statistical risks, some quite serious risks. I liked getting a different prespective but, the charts grew tiresome and I somehow wanted more narrative.