How VaccinationFacts.com selects, classifies, and presents publications
Every publication in the VaccinationFacts.com directory has been evaluated against a four-tier curation framework. This page explains how we define each tier, how titles are selected, why books representing all documented editorial perspectives are listed, and how our affiliate relationships work. Editorial decisions are made independently of commercial considerations.
Last updated: April 2026.
Official publications from major public health bodies including WHO, CDC, FDA, IOM/National Academies, and NIH. These represent the primary institutional evidence base. Most are available free from their issuing bodies and do not carry affiliate links.
Examples: CDC Pink Book, WHO ECBS Reports, IOM Immunization Safety Reviews, AAP Red Book
Books published by academic presses or credentialed scientific publishers, authored by researchers with documented credentials and sourcing. These texts have undergone peer review and are cited in primary literature.
Examples: Plotkin's Vaccines, Vaccinology: An Essential Guide, Vaccine Development and Manufacturing
Public-facing books by credentialed authors with documented sourcing. These titles are written for general or informed lay audiences but are authored by individuals with verifiable professional credentials in relevant fields.
Examples: Between Hope and Fear, On Immunity, Vaccines and Your Child
Books that present a documented policy position and may include contested claims. These titles are listed in full transparency and with explicit tier notation. Tier 4 listing is not editorial endorsement. The evidence-tier framework distinguishes inclusion from evidentiary weight — all perspectives may be listed; not all perspectives carry equal evidentiary standing under our five-tier evidence system.
Examples: Books advocating alternative vaccination schedules, critiques of vaccine regulatory processes, vaccine-skeptical historical analyses
VaccinationFacts.com's Publications Directory operates under a confirmed no-exclusion principle: books representing all documented editorial perspectives on vaccine science and policy are eligible for listing, provided they meet the threshold criteria of their assigned tier. Affiliate links are not withheld on the basis of a book's policy position. This principle is consistent with the site's founding commitment to epistemic integrity — the belief that readers are best served by a comprehensive, transparent reference resource rather than a curated advocacy library.
Where an author's documented public record is directly relevant to the credibility of claims made in the listed publication, VaccinationFacts.com includes factual, neutral public record disclosures on the book card. Examples include retractions of peer-reviewed papers and professional licensing actions by medical regulatory bodies. These disclosures are factual statements drawn from official records — not editorial opinions. They appear on book cards regardless of the author's policy position, consistent with the site's registry fairness principle.
The Book Store uses affiliate links through Bookshop.org (primary) and Amazon Associates (secondary). VaccinationFacts.com may earn a commission on purchases made through these links. Affiliate relationships do not influence editorial curation, tier classification, summary content, or inclusion decisions. No publisher may pay for preferential placement, featured status, or suppression of competing titles. Affiliate income supports VaccinationFacts.com's ongoing work as an independent, reader-funded public health education resource.
All book summaries in the Publications Directory pass through the VaccinationFacts.com Council of Three (C3) editorial review process before publication: Pass 1 (Gemini) for content and research audit, Pass 2 (Claude) for logic, scientific rigor, and factual accuracy, and Pass 3 (ChatGPT) for tone, plain language, and accessibility. David, the site owner, makes all final editorial decisions. ISBNs are verified programmatically. Bookshop.org availability is confirmed before affiliate links are activated.