Good shot

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  FRONT : Editorials

Saturday, June 15, 2002 5:30AM EDT

 EDITORIAL

Good shot

 

 
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Parents understandably will turn down a vaccine that might harm their child. But an exhaustive study of the mumps, measles and rubella shot should reassure parents that the vaccination doesn't cause autism or a bowel disease, as some have feared.

The vaccine, commonly called MMR, has nearly wiped out measles in the United States and elsewhere, and it protects kids from potentially fatal mumps and rubella, or German measles.

A report that it triggers autism and inflammatory bowel disease has led parents in some countries to bypass the vaccine. Immunizations among British 2-year-olds dropped to 84 percent by this February, a rate well below the 95 percent experts say is needed to prevent measles from returning. Fears spread to American parents as well.

Several reputable groups, including the World Health Organization, the U.S. Institute of Medicine and Great Britain's Medical Research Council, now have analyzed more than 2,000 studies -- the "highest quality studies," according to an author -- conducted across 50 years, and found no link to autism or the bowel disorder.

Fortunately, the authors went further, reviewing the study that raised the original questions about MMR. They noted the study's small number of subjects -- 12 children -- and that it involved surveying parents as long as 8 years after the vaccination was given.

It would be a shame if these serious illnesses gained a new foothold in some countries, and weren't pushed further toward eradication in others, out of unfounded fears. The new analysis gives parents a needed shot in the arm toward having their children protected.

 

 

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Vaccination News Home Page

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.