Vaccination News
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Here's an excellent article from the LA Times 1/30/01.
http://www.latimes.com/health/news/20010130/t000008804.html
Parents Should Know Both the Benefits and Risks of Vaccinations
By ERIC L. HURWITZ, Ph.D.
According to recent medical findings, many parents
believe that childhood vaccines are unsafe and seek exemptions from school
mandates. Because unvaccinated children put themselves and others at greater
risk of highly contagious diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, it is
worth exploring the possible origins of these beliefs and whether they are
scientifically justified.
If vaccines cause harm to some children, and if we
cannot accurately predict which kids will be hurt, then mass vaccination
programs, by necessity, protect the public's health at their expense. Should
the risks and benefits to the child and the public of receiving or not
receiving each vaccine be disclosed by a physician in a way that the parent
understands the inherent uncertainty of risk and voluntarily makes a decision
to accept or refuse the vaccinations?
In the U.S., vaccine safety has historically taken a
back seat to development and rapid deployment. Remarkably, even today, we lack
procedures for the systematic collection of valid long-term safety data.
Documented cases of abuse of power, unethical studies and vaccine-induced
injury and death may contribute to parents' conceptions.
Evidence of conflicts of interest involving U.S. Food
and Drug Administration advisory panel members, the withdrawal of the recently
approved vaccine for rotavirus (responsible for severe diarrhea), changes in
the hepatitis B vaccine schedule because of possible harm from a
mercury-containing preservative and reports from the Institute of Medicine are
also likely reasons for concern. The institute concluded that (a) the
measles-mumps-rubella and hepatitis B vaccines may cause anaphylaxis, a
life-threatening allergic reaction and (b) the causes of many other adverse
outcomes could not be determined because of insufficient data.
Moreover, a recent study suggests that the most widely
used current vaccines for whooping cough may be linked with anaphylaxis, while
surveillance of the chickenpox vaccine revealed anaphylaxis, encephalopathy (a
disorder affecting the brain) and other reactions. Links of the
measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and other immunizations with autism have been
neither proved nor disproved because of inadequate data.
Similarly, little is known about the potential
long-term consequences of multiple and combination vaccines typically
administered to American children. Findings from both animal and human studies
suggest that vaccinations are one of many genetic and environmental factors
that contribute to the increase in allergic disease. Thus, because of how
vaccines are tested and marketed, without large, long-term pre-approved safety
studies before widespread public school use, lack of confidence in vaccine
safety may not be a misconception, but a scientifically justifiable concern.
In fact, written informed consent may be warranted
because there is insufficient data to accurately estimate the risks; current
investigatory systems are not designed to assess the risks of rare events or
adverse outcomes with long latent periods; and post-marketing surveillance is
arguably research as defined by U.S. code. Because mandatory immunization
policies preclude voluntary informed consent, there is in many cases a lack
of trust and shared decision-making between parents and their child's
physician.
Any potential unintended consequences of current and
future vaccinations need to be acknowledged and adequately addressed through
the sharing of data, resources and expertise by government agencies, vaccine
manufacturers, researchers and policymakers.
Until we can predict which children are at risk from
current and future vaccines, voluntary, written informed consent rather than
coercion through mandates may help to restore parents' trust and maintain the
public's health.
- - -
Eric L. Hurwitz Is an Assistant Professor at Ucla's School of Public Health,
Department of Epidemiology
Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times
Breaking News Archives - each day's breaking news from December 1, 2003 (check here for breaking news you might have missed and breaking news that didn't ever hit the "front page")
More News - all the news most recently posted on this website
All the News - a running tab of everything posted on this website since October 29, 2003
Top Stories Archives - daily breaking and other important news stories
Daily News Archives - all the news posted on this website each day (from April 2001)
Hot Topics - selected stories, by category
Return to Vaccination News Home Page (for best results, right click to "open in new window")
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.