Welcome to Litsy!

Starting a new book. The sequel to Contagion #erinbowman #contagion #immunity #bookstagram #litsy #scifi

“If vaccination can be conscripted into acts of war, it can still be instrumental in works of love.”

First time I read this about 5 years ago, liked it but didn't love it. 5 years later I absolutely loved sitting in her brain and following her thoughts and musings. Couldn't ask for a more timely book.

Eula Biss approaches the subject of vaccination from the standpoint of a new mother concerned for the safety of her child. She comes down firmly on the side of vaccinations while gracefully and non-judgmentally discussing the reasons for vaccine opposition, their historical roots, and how they are invalid conclusions. I hope anyone concerned about vaccination reads this with an open mind—it‘s accessible and non-confrontational.

Some great information presented in an easy to digest way.

The belief that public health measures are not intended for people like us is widely held by many people like me.

If we imagine the action of a vaccine not just in terms of how it affects a single body, but also in terms of how it affects the collective body of a community, it is fair to think of vaccination as a banking of immunity. Contributions to this bank are donations to those who cannot or will not be protected by their own immunity. This is the principle of herd immunity...

This was an audiobook and it took me a while to finish because I only listen to a book when I am doing housework or sewing or similar, but the amount of time it took me to finish it does not reflect upon its quality. I found this engrossing as a rebuttal to the anti-vaccination movement. This author has really done her research and sets fire to a lot of those strawman arguments.

Next audiobook. I read some of her essays in grad school and have heard great stuff about this one.

This was quite good. The myriad parts of the immune system are over my head, but I learned a lot about immunology, medical wonders and general well-being. #medicine #immunity #arc #earlyreaders