Federal Report Finds Vaccines Are Safe For Kids
32 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // August 25th, 2011 // 12:20 pm
A new analysis of more than 1,000 medical journal articles found that relatively few health problems are caused by or clearly associated with vaccines, according to a report released today by the Institute of Medicine. An expert committee reviewed scientific literature on possible side effects and found what it calls convincing evidence that vaccines can cause 14 specific adverse events - such as seizures, brain inflammation and fainting - but concluded that these occur rarely.
“What we found is that there is very little evidence that vaccines cause adverse events, and most of the adverse events that there is evidence for tend to be time-limited,” Ellen Wright Clayton, director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University and the IOM committe chair, says. “The reassuring message of this report is we’ve looked very hard at the scientific evidence for adverse effects, and we found very few things, and the majority of things that we found tend to be very short lived and easy to deal with.”
To reach its conclusion, the 18-person committee examined 158 different potential adverse events for eight different types of vaccines, including several common childhood immunizations that are given against measles, mumps and rubella, which is known as the MMR vaccine, and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussispertusis, known as DTP, as well as the Gardasil vaccine for HPV that is sold by Merck and the Prevnar vaccine sold by Pfizer to combat pneumococcal bacteria. In general, the committee determined that vaccines can cause fainting and inflammation of the shoulder (here is a link to the report and here is a summary).
The committee also determinated that there is no evidence to support a connection between certain vaccines and later onset of autism or Type 1 diabetes in kids. You may recall that, earlier this year, the links between vaccines and autism that were published in The Lancet by Andrew Wakefield were discredited (see this). The committee noted that a connection is “lacking” and has a “high degree of confidence” in five studies showing no link between autism and the MMR vaccine.
The report, however, did not address every vaccine controversy, such as a curious link that has been observed between the GlaxoSmithKline pandemic flu vaccine known as Pandremix and unexplained cases of narcolepsy that emerged in Finland and Sweden. As a result, the European Medicines Agency recently decided to restrict usage to those younger than 20 years old (read here).
In any event, the findings will be used by the US Department of Health & Human Services to administer the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which some parents argue unfairly limits the liability of vaccine makers. However, earlier this year, the US Supreme Court ruled that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 shields vaccine makers from product-liability lawsuits that are filed in state courts and seek damages for injuries or death attributed to a vaccine (read here).
The committee did find connections between certain vaccines and some side effects, such as allergic reactions and temporary joint pain. For instance, the MMR vaccine can lead to fever-triggered seizures in some people, although the report maintains the effects rarely cause long-term consequences. However, the vaccine can cause a rare form of brain inflammation in some people with severe immune system deficiencies, according to the report.
Another example is the varicella vaccine against chickenpox, which can induce brain swelling, pneumonia, hepatitis, meningitis, shingles, and chickenpox in patients with compromised immune systems. But most problems occurred in individuals with immunodeficiencies, which increase susceptibility to the live viruses used in MMR and varicella. Also, six vaccines - MMR, varicella, influenza, hepatitis B, meningococcal and vaccines containing tetanus - can trigger anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that appears shortly after injection.
One consumer advocate, however, remains unconvinced. Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, which campaigns for informed consent and tracks safety issues, says the research is inadequate to determine whether vaccines are safe, and that mandatory vaccination is unnecessary.
“You don’t have enough studies that are methodologically sound,” she tells HealthDay. “Whether the big increases in asthma and ADHD and other brain and immune system disorders among children is wholly or partly due to the fact that they are getting three times as many vaccines as children in the 1970s and early 1980s is a question that can only be answered by methodologically sound science. “We are still left with the big question: Why are so many of our highly vaccinated children so sick today? Vaccines should be available as a preventive health care option for all who voluntarily want to use them.”
vaccine pic thx to lulu on flickr
AnneS
Of course if you pull out all the damaged kids from the result set, it makes it look like damage is a rare occurence. Sigh.
AnneS
Of course if you pull out all the damaged kids from the result set, it makes it look like damage is a rare occurence. Sigh.
I find this study more interesting: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2011/08/survey-results-are-unvaccinated-children-healthier/
Salient point
This is great but it’s doubtful anyone who feels strongly about this issue will be influenced by it. Or any other scientific evidence, for that matter.
SFM
The Sotomayor dissent in the Bruesewitz case is very interesting . . .
Cindy S.
Of course it is doubtful by anyone who has suffered adverse events or a death due to vaccine injury. In turn extended family, and even friends will be affected. The more people affected as the number of vaccines approved increases the more adverse events, which by the way with new vaccines new injuries would have to be added to the compensation table to even win any injury case. Those specific injuries will only be found out by the adverse events of the already “approved” vaccine. Regardless if injuries keep occurring without being covered up, eventually the vaccine industry will come down like a house of cards.
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original industry insider
I applaud the American Academy of Pediatrics, which supports the right of pediatrician to refuse to take care of unvaccinated children. This removes an otherwise unacceptable risk to any unfortunate child in the waiting room whose only sin happens to be that he/she sat next to a deliberately unvaccinated child. These parents may henceforth think twice about their refusal to vaccinate if their sick child has trouble finding a doctor all because of the parents’ philosophical objection to vaccination.
original industry insider
Here’s the link if anyone is intterested.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAP/16543
original industry insider
AnneS I feel much relieved that this is the selfsame healthy home economist who hawks AEA Certified Emu Oil as a skin care product.
Sarcha King
original industry insider. Have I had my children vaccinated, yes, do I now regret it, yes!!!!
I did what I believed was in the best interest of my children and society and every time they had their vaccines they would get very sick and take ages to recover and every time I would be told it was just a coincidents. From healthy to not.I still don’t get it how you can say that an unimmunised child sitting in a waiting room puts the immunised child at risk. So you are now telling me all those immunisations that my children have had weren’t worth it because they haven’t developed immunity at all and anyone else they pass on the street including adults may infect my child??? Has the Doctor had all his shots…. I wonder???? Children appear to be getting sicker not healthier so something doesn’t quite add up. If I could turn back time I would have not immunised them.
I had all the child hood illnesses chicken pox, measles German and English, mumps and my husband and I don’t have the allergies our children have… egg, nuts, grass. The amout of children I now see with allergies is beyond belief so again I say something just doesn’t stack up. Their immune systems are over reacting. Why do they never check all the immunised children to see if they have immunity to these diseases, my children have never be checked. We are all so worried about herd immunity yet no one checks to see if there is any.
So perhaps I am more worried about further damage to my childs immune systems than the chance of them catching it or as you say catching in the waiting room…perhaps from the Doctor.
John
Sarcha, I agree that asthma, allergies, and other immune problems are increasing in frequency, but the data connecting those increases with improved sanitation rather than with immunization seems pretty strong.
original industry insider
These childhood viral diseases are highly contagious. A deliberately unimmunized child in the waiting room may transmit disease to another unimmunized child waiting to see the doctor to get vaccinated. The illness that the second child picks up from the first child can result in florid measles, varicella, etc. compared to a much less severe reaction that the second child may get from the vaccine alone, notwithstanding the views from the anti MMR folks.
Also the adult bringing the child to the pediatrician is at least as great a risk or even greter from the deliberately unimmunized child if the adult’s immunity us has worn off or if the parent is immunosuppressed because of disease or medications. For example, such adult may pick up varicella from a deliberately unimmunied child leading to varicella pneumonia, which can be lethal in adults. This is another rationale for the AAP’s position
Hope that addresses your concerns. Then again, what do I know; I’m only a health care professional.
Andrea
Bravo OII! As a fellow health care professional I resoundingly agree!
billy bob
Some children have other medical conditions that prevent them from receiving some, or all, of the recommended vaccinations. These children are completely reliant on herd immunity for protection against these diseases. So unvaccinated children place other kids at risk. So this another important reason to support the right of pedeatricians to refuse unvaccinated patients.
Mindano Iha
We are often advised to vaccinate in order to protect the population at large. The problem is that the issue of herd immunity relates to the fact that natural diseases normally confer immunity which lasts for a lifetime, but this does not apply not to vaccines.
Vaccine induced immunity normally lasts from 2 – 10 years. Boosters are then suggested and they often last for 2 years or less.
This is why we are now seeing mandates, but they are not justified because the issue of vaccine induced herd immunity is a myth.
original industry insider
Golly, two consecutive posts supporting my position. I’m going to print this page and frame it.
shan
THANK GOD I found a wonderful family doctor who is willing to see my unvaccinated daughter. Any doctor or pediatrician who “turns away” a child because their parents are not willing to vaccinate (thank God for freedom too)truly shows their lack of character and education. It’s all about the mighty $$$. If people would stop relying on “practicing” physicians for every little booboo they get, maybe our society wouldn’t rely on shots and prescription drugs to keep them well. It’s pathetic. Prescription drugs kill more people a year than car accidents and VACCINATED children die every year from these illnesses that are so called “preventable.”
More vaccines every generation, and all I see is more and more sick kids. Wouldn’t it be great if people actually got off their lazy butts and lived a healthy lifestyle to stay well instead of relying on this junk?
Thank you, but I don’t need another robot MD telling me different. I’m grateful and proud of how healthy physically and mentally my daughter has been. Oh yeah, me too , healthy and unvaccinated!
John
In the case of pneumococcal disease it has been shown that children are the primary carriers. So at least in this case, childhood vaccine coverage that lasts only a few years would be sufficient to provide substantial protection to the entire population.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16652275
John
You’re right, prescription drugs do kill more people every year than car accidents. As does surgery.
But the better comparison to make would be the number dying with and without treatment, whether that be drugs or something else. Dying of an insulin overdose at age 50 when you would have died at age 18 in the absence of insulin therapy doesn’t make insulin a bad thing.
On the other hand, if we got rid of cars, we’d not only eliminate the deaths, but also our balance of trade deficit and global warming. :>)
billy bob
Thank you John for the link. This study:
“Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination of infants on pneumonia and influenza hospitalization and mortality in all age groups in the United States.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21264063
Also documents the substantial public health benefits for adults attributed due to the introduction of effective pneumococcal vaccines. The authors conclude that 90% of reduction in hospitalizations among adults is attributed to herd immunity.
Mindano, Iha: Please provide references demonstrating that herd immunity is a “myth”.
K
My girlfriends daughter got chicken pox from a recently vaccinated child. Similar to the children overseas spreading polio from the oral vaccine. Luckily for her she won’t have to worry about getting the chicken pox later when she is an adult and pregnant because she will have life immunity not temporary. Chicken pox is detrimental to a fetus! I guess those who get the vax will have to keep getting the shot every so often or fear getting it from their vaxed child. Hmmm, maybe it’s the vaxed children we should be concerned about!
Tina
I’m sure all the parents of children who are severely vaccine-damaged (and i’m not JUST talking about Autism, though Wakefield’s findings HAVE been replicated) will be thrilled to know that their sacrifice may have “saved” another child from having that horrible, inconvenient, sucks-that-Daddy-had-to-take-three-days-off-work-to-care-for-his-child measles illness. And the children getting shingles (oh that can’t POSSIBLY be because of mutant viruses and all the other neurotoxins in vaccines, right) will think “oh, I don’t mind the horrible burning pain if some other little kid doesn’t have to have some itchy chicken pox for a few days.”
I’d love to know who was on that panel and if the designers of this study even attempted to be impartial. Or if they were all vax-industry shills like Paul Offit.
Thank God for pediatricians who respect the sanctity of the body and freedom of choice.
amber
And I just saw a pig with wings flying by..it was purple and could talk.
john
The bio sketches of the report authors can be found here.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13164&page=639
Identical twin concordance studies suggest that about 40% of the risk is genetic. The first degree relatives of autistic persons exhibit a high prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorder and have subtle defects in certain tests of neurological function.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21727249
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19805709
john
Sorry, I should state clearly that the above post was not intended as a slur, justt to illustrate the genetic findings. I am an ASD first degee relative myself.
original industry insider
For those parents opposing vaccination, I submit the following list of states: Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, Wyoming. Why this eclectic list? These seven states will be the only states that you will be able to send your child to, as they don’t require pre-enrollment vaccinations. Hopefully when your child reaches college age he/she will weigh the evidence and make the scientifically intelligent decision to get vaccinated. If the decision is left up to you, then good luck getting to Hawaii for Parents’ Weekend.
marcia stone
John–Read Martin Blaser’s comment in 25 August Nature (p.393). Antibiotic overuse is killing off our protective bacterial partners and children’s immune systems aren’t being properly trained (among other things). That can lead to asthma, obesity and all the things that go with it. Not vaccines.
Wakefield is a crook, he falsified data for money. See: http://www.suite101.com/content/autism-mmr-link-dealt-fatal-blows-on-two-fronts-a358747
Pediatricans have immunocompromised children in their waiting rooms,they should not be exposed to unvaccinated, disease-carrying youngsters. Parents may have a right to make their own kids sick, but they have no right at all to kill other people’s children.
marcia stone
John–Read Martin Blaser’s comment in 25 August Nature (p.393). Antibiotic overuse is killing off our protective bacterial partners and children’s immune systems aren’t being properly trained (among other things). That can lead to asthma, obesity and all the things that go with it. Not vaccines.
Wakefield is a crook, he falsified data for money. http://www.suite101.com/content/autism-mmr-link-dealt-fatal-blows-on-two-fronts-a358747
Pediatricans have immunocompromised children in their waiting rooms,they should not be exposed to unvaccinated, disease-carrying youngsters. Parents may have a right to make their own kids sick, but they have no right at all to kill other people’s children.
Evelyn Pringle
As usual, original industry insider, who always comes out bragging about his credentials as a medical professional but refusing to give a real names so they can be verified, is incorrect in listing only seven states where vaccinations are not required for enrollment.
I live in Wisconsin and my 5-year-old grandson has received no vaccinations and he attended pre-kindergarten in a public school last year and will be going to the same school to start full-time kindergarten next a week.
I also want to point out that my grandson is in excellent health and I can count on one hand the number of days that he’s been sick since birth.
Since I found out that the majority of income for pediatricians results from getting kids into their office for all those vaccines, I understand why they’re trying to blackmail parents into vaccinating their kids. And I’m ecstatic to see so many parents not giving in to the blackmail.
There is nothing on this earth that could get me to allow my precious grandson to be vaccinated. It would literally only be done over my dead body.
Our corrupt regulatory agencies can pump out bogus studies til the cows come home and they’ll never override my own findings from years of investigations dating back to 2004.
original industry insider
“The immunization requirement [for State of Wisconsin) is waived if the student, if an adult, or the students parent, guardian or legal custodian submits a written statement to the school, day care center or nursery school objecting to the immunization for reasons of health, religion or personal conviction”.
Evelyn, I looked up the Wisconsin Vaccination statute, and I suppose that your family may have used this loophole to get your grandson into elementary school without pre-enrollment vaccination. The statute is written so loosely that you can drive a 18 wheeler through it.
Wisonsin is a good state to live in if you object to things. Last year was the 40th anniversery of the fatal student terrorist bombing of the Army Math Research Center at UW to protest the Viet Nam War. Thus I suppose the tradition of protest continues.
I hope that you don’t have aspirations for your grandson to become a veterinarian. If that were to happen then you should know that many vet schools require students to get pre-enrollment rabies vaccinations. The conscientious objector excuse won’t fly with the Admissions Committees.
john
Of course they’re corrupt Evelyn. What other possible explanation could there be for a panel of internationally known autism and immunology experts to reach a conclusion different from your own?
But if you could substantiate these accusations, that would be a good starting point prior to moving on to discussions of other vaccine advocates such as the FDA, CDC, their counterparts in 135 other countries, every major US and international medical society, WHO, the Gates Foundation, the March of Dimes, and the thousands of international scientists and physicians with papers listed in Pubmed describing favorable risk-benefit ratios for vaccines.
The bureaucracy needed to organize all these bribes must be extraordinary. I wonder if they’re hiring? Or how I can get a monthly bribe check for myself? Surely they’ve approached you by now, Evelyn. What did they offer?
original industry insider
John, all signs point to the work of the Trilateral Commission. Only a secret organization large enough to run the world could organize a conspiracy on such a massive scale.
Evelyn Pringle
John - who said anything about monthly bribery checks?
Where are the former top officials (political appointees) of our regulatory agencies employed now?
And how about the internationally known expert Poul Thorsen, who was even a member of the DSM5 task force - what’s he up to lately?
As for the WHO, how much influence did the vaccine industry exert in the recent pig flu hoax that cost tax payers how many billions of dollars?
And how about some of the other bullhorns for the vaccine industry, like the Murdoch gang and their stooge Brian Deer? How is their credibility holding up these days?