Chen RT, Pool V, Takahashi H, Weniger BG, Patel B.
Vaccine Safety and Development Activity, National Immunization Program, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. bchen@cdc.gov
The success of immunizations in nearly eliminating many vaccine-preventable
diseases has resulted in an increase in the need to study risks from vaccines,
combination or otherwise. The well-known limitations associated with
prelicensure trials have led many to hope that postlicensure studies can address
safety issues. This article reviews measures that have been or should be taken
to meet this expectation: establishment of clinical immunization safety
assessment centers, standardization of case definitions for vaccine adverse
events, use of the Vaccine Identification Standards Initiative to improve the
accuracy and efficiency with which vaccination records are transferred,
integration of vaccine safety monitoring into immunization registries,
establishment (and enlargement) of the Vaccine Safety Datalink project, use of
innovative analytic tools for better signal detection, and implementation of
various methods to overcome confounding by contraindication. Only by investing
in vaccine safety infrastructure at a level commensurate with investments in
vaccine development can we hope to retain the public's confidence in
immunization.
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.
"A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth."
-- Albert Einstein, letter to a friend, 1901
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820
"What's the point of vaccination if it doesn't protect you from the unvaccinated?"
-- Sandy Gottstein
"Who gets to decide what the greater good is and how many will be sacrificed to it?"