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May 3, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Burton Interested in Vaccine Data"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (05/02/02)

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) has drafted a controversial subpoena demanding access to the national vaccine database, called the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), which contains medical information on nearly 7.5 million Americans.  The VDS, which is maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is an accumulation of data provided by several large U.S. health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and is used to study the safety of vaccines and determine their continued usage.  Burton's focus is on the current uncertainties surrounding the safety of a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal, which was once used in several children's vaccines, but has since been almost completely replaced by manufacturers.  While the CDC's database studies so far have not confirmed any damage from thimerosal, Burton is determined to have non-government scientists conduct a study.  Kaiser Permanente and other HMOs say that the release of information to Burton is such a dire threat to patient privacy that they are considering dismantling the database entirely, because even though names and other obvious identifiers are omitted, a determined researcher could ultimately identify a specific individual and achieve access to that person's health records.

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.