Seth Mnookin's The Panic Virus: A True Story of Medicine, Science, and Fear is a high-profile book with equally high-profile positive reviews, but his impending West Coast book tour is entirely self-organized. That means Mr. Mnookin is coming here to fight and expose vaccine myths -- and help protect the health of all of our children -- on his own dime.

We, as his supporters, his teammates, his fellow skeptical humanitarians, can and should help out with the funding for this tour. Especially those of us who have long itched to take take instant and effective action against vaccine misinformation. Or those of us writers who may launch our own self-organized book tours in the near future -- we can consider our donations an investment in karma.

The amount Mr. Mnookin said (when pressed, he was hesitant to ask for support) would help is modest -- less than $800 total -- but it will make all the difference for his self-organized tour model. If you can donate even $10 or $20, and/or vigorously email, Facebook, or tweet either the URL for this post or for The Panic Virus West Coast Tour ChipIn campaign page, I think our small-scale fundraiser will succeed.

If you need a final nudge, read Mr. Mnookin's compelling interview on The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism. Then you'll see what kind of gift you'll be giving those who attend his West Coast appearances. And thank you.

Appearances (from The Panic Virus website):

• [Monday] March 7, Walnut Creek, CA 12:30pm
  Grand rounds discussion, Kaiser Permanente Walnut Creek Medical Center.
• March 7, Palo Alto, CA 5:30pm
  “Medical Authority and Citizen Scientists in the Vaccine Debate.” Discussion and book signing. Munzer Auditorium, Beckman Center, Stanford University, 279 Campus Ave., Stanford, CA. Sponsored by the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics. Free and open to the public.
• [Tuesday] March 8, San Francisco, CA 4pm
  Discussion and book signing, Robert W. Mahley Auditorium, Gladstone Institute of Immunology and Virology, University of California-San Francisco, 1650 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA. Free and open to the public.
• March 8, San Francisco, CA 7pm
  Science Café discussion, Q/A, and book signing. The Atlas Café, 3049 20th St (at Alabama St.). Free and open to the public.