On this episode of This Week with Dr. T, I was joined by Dr. Jeffrey Barke—board-certified primary care physician, tactical SWAT team doctor, school board member, and a founding member of America’s Frontline Doctors. He’s also the co-author of a bold new book titled Unavoidably Unsafe: Childhood Vaccines Reconsidered, co-written with Dr. Ed Geehr.
Dr. Barke is not new to standing up when it’s unpopular. He’s made it his mission to defend medical freedom, and in this conversation, he brings decades of clinical experience to the table to challenge one of medicine’s most sacred cows: childhood vaccination.
We began by discussing what led to the book. Why now, and why this angle, with so many others out there? Dr. Barke explained the goal is not to “create anti-vaxxers,” but to empower parents to make informed decisions. I pushed back on that—I’ve been sounding the alarm for over two decades and believe it’s time we reclaim the “anti-vax” label with clarity and pride. After all, most so-called anti-vaxxers started as compliant vaccinators. The label only came after the harm.
Dr. Barke agreed: the system doesn’t warn, doesn’t pause, and doesn’t take accountability. It doubles down. His book is an invitation to step back, question, and rethink.
We explored six pediatric vaccines he believes should be eliminated entirely. He also introduces a list of “optimal vaccine criteria,” which, on paper, sounds rational:
Targets diseases with limited treatments
Benefits clearly outweigh the risks
Has a strong safety record
Effectively prevents infection, replication, and transmission
Contributes to herd immunity
Does not compromise natural immunity
The problem? Virtually no vaccine on the childhood schedule today meets these criteria. I would argue none of them do. Yet they continue to be pushed—relentlessly.
Dr. Barke has even developed a grading system in the book, ranking vaccines based on how well they meet these standards. He gives the Hepatitis B vaccine an “A” for infection prevention and transmission reduction, particularly in high-risk settings.
But I had to raise a critical concern: Hepatitis B is given to infants on Day One of life, for a disease transmitted through sex or IV drug use. Add to that the fact that:
Roughly 10% of recipients are non-responders, even after the full series
Antibody levels often drop to undetectable levels within 12 years
There is no lifelong immunity
We are over-relying on antibody levels as the definition of protection. And that’s not science—it’s convenience.
We also covered one of the most urgent chapters in the book: why no child should ever be given an mRNA shot. Dr. Barke walks through the data, the risk-benefit imbalance, and the complete lack of long-term safety data for children.
He closes with thoughts on the current direction of public health under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. While many are hopeful, Dr. Barke remains cautiously optimistic. Rebuilding trust requires more than good leadership—it requires dismantling the structures that allowed this crisis to flourish.
If you want a grounded, clinical, and courageous look at the vaccine debate from a physician who’s walked both sides of the issue, Unavoidably Unsafe is worth your time. You may not agree with everything, but you will walk away better informed—and more empowered to ask the right questions for your family’s health.
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