Vaccine Wars: When Science and Politics Collide

Gr 7 Up–An overview of the development of vaccines, this book discusses how politics has interfered in each step along the way. Allen splits the book into four chapters that examine the development, testing, distributing, and delivery of vaccines. Each section takes a look at the struggles encountered when previous vaccines were introduced to the public. Photographs with captions are included (though they don’t add much to the narrative), and source notes and further reading are provided. While Allen does provide a history of vaccines, the book is organized haphazardly. It is made clear that vaccines have always had opposition, but this is almost used as an excuse for why the COVID-19 vaccine has had trouble at each step. Allen glosses over the mismanagement of the pandemic and spends more time blaming “fake science” being spread through social media. He also critiques President Biden’s comments during the presidential election while failing to mention President Trump’s initial dismissal of the pandemic. The information is easy to understand, but there is a definite bias in what is included.