An accessible and reassuring guide to childhood health and immunity from a pediatrician who’s both knowledgeable about the latest scientific research and respectful of a family’s risk factors, health history, and concerns

In The Vaccine-Friendly Plan, Paul Thomas, M.D., presents his proven approach to building immunity: a new protocol that limits a child’s exposure to aluminum, mercury, and other neurotoxins while building overall good health. Based on the results from his pediatric practice of more than eleven thousand children, as well as data from other credible and scientifically minded medical doctors, Dr. Paul’s vaccine-friendly protocol gives readers

• recommendations for a healthy pregnancy and childbirth
• vital information about what to expect at every well child visit from birth through adolescence
• a slower, evidence-based vaccine schedule that calls for only one aluminum-containing shot at a time
• important questions to ask about your child’s first few weeks, first years, and beyond
• advice about how to talk to health care providers when you have concerns
• the risks associated with opting out of vaccinations
• a practical approach to common illnesses throughout the school years
• simple tips and tricks for healthy eating and toxin-free living at any age

The Vaccine-Friendly Plan presents a new standard for pediatric care, giving parents peace of mind in raising happy, healthy children.

Praise for The Vaccine-Friendly Plan

“Finally, a book about vaccines that respects parents! If you choose only one book to read on the topic, read The Vaccine-Friendly Plan. This impeccably researched, well-balanced book puts you in the driver’s seat and empowers you to make conscientious vaccine decisions for your family.”—Peggy O’Mara, editor and publisher, Mothering Magazine 

“Sure to appeal to readers of all kinds as a friendly, no-nonsense book that cuts through the rhetoric surrounding vaccines. It offers validation to those who avoid some or all, while offering those who do want to vaccinate help on how to do so safely. This is a great book for anyone with children in their lives.”—Natural Mother

“A valuable, science-supported guide to optimizing your child’s health while you navigate through complex choices in a toxic, challenging world.”—Martha Herbert, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School

“An impressively researched guide, this important book is essential reading for parents. With clear and practical advice for shielding children from harmful toxins, it will compel us all to think differently about how to protect health.”—Jay Gordon, M.D., FAAP

“Rather than a one-size-fits-all vaccine strategy, the authors suggest thoughtful, individualized decisions based on research and collaboration between parents and clinicians—a plan to optimize a child’s immune system and minimize any risks.”—Elizabeth Mumper, M.D., founder and CEO, The Rimland Center for Integrative Pediatrics

“This well-written and thought-provoking book will encourage parents to think through decisions—such as food choices and the timing of vaccines—that affect the well-being of their children. In a world where children’s immune systems are increasingly challenged, this is a timely addition to the literature.”—Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., bestselling author of The Dance of Anger and The Mother Dance

Paul Thomas, M.D., FAAP, received his M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School and did his residency at UC San Diego. He is a board-certified fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and board-certified in integrative and holistic medicine and addiction medicine. His practice, Integrative Pediatrics, currently serves more than eleven thousand patients in the Portland, Oregon, area. He was named a top family doctor in America by Ladies’ Home Journal in 2004 and a top pediatrician in America in 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2014 by Castle Connolly. Dr. Thomas grew up in Zimbabwe (the former Rhodesia) and speaks both Shona and Spanish. He is the father of ten children (ages twenty to thirty-two), all of whom are vaccinated. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.
 
Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., is an award-winning science journalist who has been researching and writing about issues related to children’s health for more than ten years. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine. A Boston native, she lives in Oregon with her husband and four children.