►March 4, 2004 -
Immunization controversy: Should colleges require the bacterial meningitis
vaccine? - The Stanford Daily - "'I don’t think it would be a good policy to
require the vaccine,' said Dr. Ira Friedman, who works at Vaden. 'A vaccine
should be required only when its benefits far outweigh its costs, in dollars and
otherwise. This is not the case for the meningococcal vaccine. That’s why public
health authorities support an educational approach.'”...However, other medical
professionals disagree with Friedman’s opinions and claim that there is no
significant reason not to get the meningitis vaccine. According to the CDC, the
vaccine proves 85 to 90 percent effective against the most common strains,with
rare side effects of mild redness or slight fever."
►March 2004 -
Decrease of Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Children Among 8 Children's
Hospitals in the United States After the Introduction of the 7-Valent
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine - journal article
(Pediatrics) - "Conclusions. Since the
introduction of the PCV7, the numberof invasive pneumococcal
infections caused by vaccine-serogroupisolates among 8 US children’s
hospitals has decreased>75% among children
24 months old. In addition, penicillinresistance decreased in 2002 for the first time since our surveillancebegan in 1993–1994. However, we have noted that replacementmay
be developing with serogroups 15 and 33. Furthermore, penicillin
resistance seems to be increasing among nonvaccine serogroups.
Surveillance must be continued to detect the emergence of changesin
the distribution of serotypes as well as antibiotic susceptibility."
►March 2, 2004 -
Senate
Passes 2 New Bills On Vaccinations - Colleges Could Be Required To Give Info
On Meningitis - www.theiowachannel.com
►March 2, 2004 -
Pneumococcal Vaccine in Short Supply - Prevnar Shortage Prompts Change in
Vaccination Recommendations - WebMD
►March 3, 2004 -
A Shortage of
Meningitis Vaccine (requires registration or subscription) - The New York
Times - "Because of a severe shortage of a new vaccine to prevent meningitis and
ear infections in young children, doctors should postpone giving the last two
doses in a four-dose regimen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recommended Tuesday...The shortage was caused by production problems at Wyeth
Vaccines, the world's sole manufacturer of the vaccine, known as Prevnar, the
disease centers said. The agency said the problems were not expected to be
corrected until fall at the earliest...But Douglas Petkus, a spokesman for Wyeth,
said he expected supply levels to return to normal by the summer, adding that
the shortfall was a result of the company's efforts to keep up with the demand."
►February 28, 2004 -
Fewer cases
of meningitis reported - Fewer cases of meningococcal disease have been
reported so far this year but health authorities still warn against complacency.
- www.stuff.co.nz
►February 20, 2004 - The
Meningitis Debate - More states are encouraging vaccines for students,
despite objections from some campus health officials - The Chronicle Of Higher
Education - "He learned that the disease is spread through saliva and can be
transmitted through coughing, sneezing, shared drinks, or any other form of
close contact. Most people who become infected, however, don't contract
meningitis and aren't even aware that they are carriers. He also discovered that
there is a vaccine that might have prevented him from catching the disease...On
the surface, the meningitis laws are the swift product of grass-roots efforts to
protect college students from a fatal disease. But many college health officials
are questioning whether the laws are necessary. These officials argue that
legislators have acted irrationally in response to lobbying efforts by
pharmaceutical companies and emotional appeals from small groups of advocates."
►February 18, 2004 -
Bill makes meningitis information mandatory - Colorado State Collegian - "A
bill has been introduced to the Colorado General Assembly that would require all
Colorado institutions of higher education to provide information about
meningitis and the available vaccine to students living in campus
housing...Students living in the residence halls have a slightly increased risk
of contracting bacterial meningitis, an infection of fluid in the spinal cord
and brain, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention completed in 2000...Up to 125 cases of bacterial meningitis occur on
college campuses around the country, 10 to 15 of which have been deadly, said
Lisa Duggan, immunization specialist at the Hartshorn Health Service...'It's not
a huge number,' Duggan said. 'But it's tragic considering it is a preventable
disease.'"
►February 19, 2004 -
Babies at risk of pneumococcal - Herald Sun - "THOUSANDS
of Victorian babies have been left exposed to the deadly pneumococcal disease as
a global shortage of preventative jabs worsens...Vaccine-maker Wyeth said last
month that babies who had begun the three-shot immunisation course would be able
to finish the program...But worried parents have now been told supplies are no
longer available, and they will have to wait at least four months before their
children can resume the course...The delay will not negate the effect of the
shots already administered, but those children do not have complete protection
against the killer disease...Parents have been advised not to use an older
pneumococcal vaccine."
►February 13, 2004 -
Meningitis drugs blunder - Doctors are hoping to finish giving second doses
of antibiotics to 80 children at Tiverton High School on Friday after it emerged
a mistake had been made over the mixture. - BBC - "Pupils were given antibiotics
on Tuesday after the death of a girl from meningitis the day before...But some
of the children who were given the drug in liquid form received a dose that had
not been properly mixed."
►February 13, 2004 -
Health Officials Urge Halt to Meningitis Shots (requires registration) -
Times Wire Services via The Los Angeles Times - "U.S. health officials urged
doctors and nurses to temporarily suspend routine use of a booster shot that
protects children against bacterial meningitis because of a looming shortage of
vaccine...Curtailing the fourth dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is not
expected to hurt the health of children, officials said."
►February 12, 2004 -
Health groups urge change in vaccination procedure - AP via
www.nbc25.com - "Health
care providers are being urged to suspend temporarily the routine use of a
fourth dose of a widely used childhood vaccination...Three major health groups,
including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say the move would
help conserve vaccine and minimize the likelihood of shortages caused by
production and supply problems at Wyeth Vaccines. It's the only supplier in the
U-S...The vaccine in question is pneumococcal conjugate (noo-moh-KAH'-kuhl
KAHN'-joo-gut) vaccine, pr P-C-V-7. It can help prevent serious pneumococcal
disease such as meningitis and blood infections. Health officials say cutting
back to three doses from four won't have any adverse health consequences."
Comment: If cutting back to three doses from four "won't have any adverse
health consequences", what is the purpose of the fourth dose? (That is,
other than to line the coffers of the vaccine manufacturers?)
Comment: It will
only be when the death and damage caused by vaccines and diseases both raise the
same level of concern that vaccination policy can be viewed as having a moral
and ethical base, and those who promote it as having honorable intent. If
vaccination policy continues to be supported and administered based on the
notion that some unknown, but presumed to be small, number must be sacrificed
for someone's notion of the "common good", it will remain a bankrupt, immoral
policy. This well-written letter by the mother of a vaccine-damaged child
represents the fair-minded, honorable view that current vaccination policy
lacks.
►January 2004 -
Outbreak of Haemophilus influenzae type b disease among fully vaccinated
children in a day-care center. - journal article
(Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal) - "Conclusions.
Although immunization against Hib has resulted in a reduction in the incidence
of this disease in the UK, individual protection cannot be assumed to be
infallible. The importance of timely chemoprophylaxis of close contacts of a
child with invasive Hib disease is reinforced." ►February 2004 -
Case-control studies of the effectiveness of vaccines: validity and assessment
of potential bias - journal article
(Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal) - "Because case-control
studies of the effectiveness of vaccines are nonexperimental, it is difficult to
assure that bias does not affect the validity of the results...Conclusion. With
the use of a virtually identical study design, vaccines against Hib were shown
to be highly effective in preventing invasive Hib infections but were not
effective in preventing invasive infections due to S. pneumoniae.
Case-control studies are a valid method of assessing the effectiveness of
vaccines."
►February 11, 2004 -
Prevention of viral pneumonia enhanced - Vietnam News Agency - "According
to the Health Ministry, the country had by Feb. 11 had 197 viral pneumonia
patients in 27 provinces and cities, 18 of whom contracted the strain of H5N1
virus. Thirty-five died, including 14 H5N1 virus carriers."
January 26 - February 8, 2004 (2 weeks combined
due to illness)
►February
4, 2004 -
A
Mother's Message: She pushes for meningitis immunizations - Houston
Chronicle - ""I just want to scream when I run into these people who say
immunization doesn't work or it works only part of the time or it has risks,"
she said one recent afternoon in the dining room of her home southeast of
Conroe...Inoculation against the disease is not required in Texas, but the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccination when an area
experiences more than 10 cases per 100,000 population within 90 days...Bacterial
meningitis remains comparatively rare, with Texas registering 119 cases in 2002.
But Milley believes that number is low because mild cases are sometimes treated
as some other illness and go unreported."
►January 21, 2004 - Bacterial
Meningitis risk appears small - Officials
get word out after death
- Tri-Valley Herald Online -
"'It's
important to emphasize that it really requires ongoing, close intimate contact
with somebody that has been diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis to put you
at risk for exposure,' said Dr. Peter Dietrich, medical director of Berkeley's
University Health Service. 'So casual exposures like eating in the same dining
hall together or attending a class together, or going to the training room or
the weight room or passing each other on the campus is not the type of exposure
we're worried about.'"
►January 23, 2004 -
Vaccine close
to release - International pharmaceutical company
Chiron Corporation is speeding up the manufacture of the new vaccine designed to
combat the deadly meningoccocal B epidemic hitting New Zealand. -
www.stuff.co.nz
►January
16, 2004 -
Life-saving baby jabs running low - The Herald Sun - "THOUSANDS
of newborn Australian children will miss out on shots against the deadly
pneumococcal disease as a global vaccine shortage takes effect...Australian
supplies of the Prevenar vaccine will not be fully restored until at least
April, according to manufacturer Wyeth...The drug company has been forced to
halt production of Prevenar at its US plant amid an upgrade to meet increased
international demand."
January 5-11, 2004
►January 9, 2004 -
Tragic mum's plea
for rare bug vaccine
- The Mercury - "The
first time Stacey Harper heard of pneumococcal disease was a few minutes after
her seven-year-old son died...Jacob, her only child, lost his life to
streptococcus pneumonia septicemia less than six hours after arriving in
hospital."
►January
10, 2004 -
Query on bug vaccine - The Mercury - "The Health
Department is investigating whether a meningococcal C vaccine may have failed
after a child contracted the illness...Last month there were four suspected
cases of meningococcal C...Three of the cases were from one family and the
children had received the meningococcal C vaccine. ..Further testing found only
one child contracted the illness, while the other two received precautionary
treatment."
Comment: Given the fact that
there are no short or long-term, properly designed studies comparing the
vaccinated to the never vaccinated (or those vaccinated, but not against
meningitis), it is impossible to know how well the vaccine works.
For more on the new meningitis vaccine, and possible ramifications of its use,
go to
Scandals: Another Unnecessary Vaccine?
Here Comes the Hype for a New Meningitis Vaccine
(originally published under another title).
►January
6, 2004 -
Meningitis experts pin hopes on new vaccine -
Plans for immunisation of children against B strain - Belfast Telegraph -
"Meningitis experts in Northern Ireland said today they were "crossing
their fingers" that a new vaccine would be the breakthrough needed to protect
against the most dangerous form of the illness...The Meningitis Research
Foundation was commenting on latest research carried out by scientists at the
University of Surrey which could allow doctors to immunise children against
meningitis B for the first time."
►January
6, 2004 - Vaccine '
could beat meningitis' - Scientists believe they may have found a way to
protect people against every strain of meningitis. - BBC
►January 5, 2004 - Hope
For New Meningitis Vaccine - University of Surrey via
www.innovations-report.com -
"The Surrey researchers used genetic engineering technology to make a mutant
group of the meningococcus that was incapable of causing disease in mice. The
mutant was made in a C group of the meningococcus. However, mice that were
inoculated with the mutant group developed antibodies that killed not only C
groups but also B and A groups. It appears that, by inoculating with the
disabled group, the mice have effectively been immunised against all groups."
Comment: But what
about the problem of changing serotypes, with them sometimes becoming
more virulent, due to outside
pressure like vaccines
and antibiotics?
►December 30, 2003 - Meningitis
Drops in 2003, Despite Several Recent Cases - Boston Globe via
www.immunizationinfo.org
(abstract) - "New Hampshire health officials have
disclosed that the strain of meningitis that killed an 18-year-old woman in the
Bennington area is not the same strain that infected two 15-year-old students in
Keene, allaying fears that an outbreak of the dangerous illness is erupting. In
addition, two other youths who contracted meningitis last week appear to have no
relation to any of the other cases. In fact, the rate of meningitis infection
has dropped in 2003 despite this recent jump in the disease's visibility."
►January 4, 2004 -
Meningitis group urges child vaccinations -
www.2theadvocate.com - "The chances of
dying from bacterial meningitis, which has claimed the lives of two area
teen-agers in the past month, are about one in a million in Louisiana, health
officials said...But such odds, as small as they seem, are still too great for
the National Meningitis Foundation."
Comment: If there were no potential risks from
meningitis vaccine, perhaps this would be a no-brainer. But there are.
(There have been
644 adverse meningitis
vaccine-associated reactions,
representing
in all likelihood between 6,440 and 64,400 cases, reported to VAERS so far.)
►December 29, 2003 - Docs
Hunt Teen Meningitis Link - "If all of the strains of the bacteria match,
and certainly if there are more cases, that would be more concerning." Jesse
Greenblatt, state epidemiologist - AP via CBS News
►December
29, 2003 -
Meningitis victim was sent home by hospital - N.H. teen lacked 'classic'
symptoms - The Boston Globe - "Greenblatt said the 15-year-olds appear to have
spread the disease to one another, but health officials had found no links
between the other cases. Ells, Gilman, and Perry all contracted a strain of
the disease that cannot be prevented by vaccination. Health officials were
testing to determine whether the Colebrook boy had the same strain, and suspect
the Concord-area boy did, as well....'If all of the strains of the bacteria
match, and certainly if there are more cases, that would be more concerning,"
Greenblatt said. "It would mean that there is potentially more risk from a new
strain that has entered the area.'"
DISCLAIMER: 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.
24 months old. In addition, penicillin
resistance decreased in 2002 for the first time since our surveillance
began in 1993–1994. However, we have noted that replacement may
be developing with serogroups 15 and 33. Furthermore, penicillin
resistance seems to be increasing among nonvaccine serogroups.
Surveillance must be continued to detect the emergence of changes in
the distribution of serotypes as well as antibiotic susceptibility."