Allergy-Immunology Department, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.
(The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the
authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of
the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.) Immunization
healthcare is becoming increasingly complex as the number and types of vaccines
have continued to expand. Like all prescription drugs, vaccines may be
associated with adverse events. The majority of these reactions are self-limited
and not associated with prolonged disability. The media, Internet and public
advocacy groups have focused on potentially serious vaccine-associated adverse
events with questions raised about causal linkages to increasing frequencies of
diseases such as autism and asthma. Despite a lack of evidence of a causal
relationship to a variety of vaccine safety concerns, including extensive
reviews by the Institute of Medicine, questions regarding vaccine safety
continue to threaten the success of immunization programs. Risk communication
arid individual risk assessment is further challenged by the public health
success of vaccine programs creating the perception that certain vaccines are no
longer necessary or justified because of the rare reaction risk. There is a need
for improved understanding of true vaccine contraindications and precautions as
well as host factors and disease threat in order to develop a patient specific
balanced risk communication intervention. When they occur, vaccine related
adverse events must be treated, documented and reported through the VAERS
system. The increasing complexity of vaccination health care has led the Center
of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify Vaccine Safety Assessment
and Evaluation as a potential new specialty.
ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND
MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION
PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS
OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR
LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND
COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH
YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.
