But Offit says he is "uncomfortable as a scientist" with the committee's methodology. For most vaccines other than MMR, for which very large population studies have been done to specifically examine the vaccine's putative links to autism and other adverse events, "They're looking at case reports and trying to decide whether they think the evidence supports a link," he says. "That's an unusual way to do science, because now you're making it more subjective."
Wright Clayton says that the panel could not estimate the frequency of adverse effects, most of which are too rare to measure without conducting very large and expensive studies.
She adds that there are ways to bolster future reviews, such as clearer rules for access to electronic patient records. "What would be enormously helpful would be the elaboration of guidelines so that when a clinician immunizes a child and some adverse reaction happens, we know what other information we can get to figure out whether the vaccine did it," she says.
This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on August 25, 2011.
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17 Comments
Add CommentYet another devastating setback for Jenny McCarthy and her angry mob.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHonestly. No mention of the Baltimore Sun article regarding scientist Margaret Dunkle's vaccine safety paper(which strangely, originally received very little press), positing, after a review of existing studies, that perhaps using too many vaccines all at once may pose a problem for susceptible individuals). I note that now Forbes.com is calling Dunkle an "anti-vaccine" activist (I see no evidence of this on her website). This whole thing is becoming like the chronic divide and witchhunt between Democrats and Republicans. It does not need to be an all or nothing proposition - there are ways to make vaccines safer such as no preservatives,different schedules. Like how many newborn babies really need a Hep B shot? That's just poor science; kindergarten is certainly soon enough unless the parents are drug addicts (in which case they may not see to the polio boosters either!). I find it very strange how some of the medical community is so absolutely entrenched against improving a policy. Parents were justifiably angered when their kids got polio FROM a live vaccine,when the killed version was already available,but THEY WERE NOT TOLD about this at the time. That's the kind of thing that makes thinking individuals want to do their own research and make decisions accordingly. Reminds me of how maligned all chiropractors were by the medical profession; now after many studies, some MD's are finally coming around.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDunkle's op-ed consisted entirely of her opinion that children receive too many vaccines in too short of a time. She offers no real science to back up that claim. As long as she relies on discredited "studies", such as the SAFE MINDS paper by Gayle DeLong, Dunkle deserves to be labelled "anti-vaccine."
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"It does not need to be an all or nothing proposition - there are ways to make vaccines safer such as no preservatives,different schedules." Dude, these things have already been optimized based on many studies by people with no agenda. Unlike the vaccine-phobic who keep moving the goal posts of what THEY think are causing problems in their children. If their hypothesis was correct the studies would confirm their theories. Instead once a study comes out proving them wrong they then move on to the next theory on why vaccines cause childhood problems. That is the opposite way to do science verses objective placebo-controlled scientific studies etc. When you form a hypothesis prior to designing and conducting an experiment then you are already pre-biased to design an experiment that yields an outcome that supports the hypothesis. "For those who are committed to the concept that vaccines are harmful independent of what the data say, it won't matter."
I am not anti-vaccine. However, I do believe too many are given, too soon, and I don't believe the recommendations are without agenda. The agenda is for the overall good of the public, not what is best for individual children.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBecause the US does not have universal health coverage for *all*, there is a public health agenda to get as many vaccines into kids, as early as possible. For many kids, the only time they will see a health care professional is up to age 2, via well-baby care. Well-baby check-ups are something that is available, free for people on many health plans or at public clinics, or at very low cost. After age 2, medical visits cost money. So, most older kids only see a doctor when they are sick, and you don't give vaccines to kids when they are sick.
If the US had universal access to free health care for children at any age, I bet you would see changes in the vaccine recommendations, with some of them postponed until kids are older.
The comment above about Hep B for newborns is spot on. In the US, Hep B is nearly always transmitted via sex, so a kid really doesn't need that vaccine until later in childhood, say age 6. (OK, please don't nitpick about kids who are sexually abused, I know it happens, far too often).
The exception is if the infant's mother has Hep B - otherwise there is NO reason for a newborn to be given that vaccine. The newborn immune system can't even make a very good response to it. It *is* an important vaccine to give a baby, with follow-up boosters, if the mother is infected with Hep B (or if she is breast-feeding and at high risk, such as being an IV drug user, or a sex partner of someone who is infected or at high risk). And, it is true that those infants at high-risk of Hep B infection are less likely to to even get the minimum well-baby check ups, so for them, any Hep B vaccine is better than none.
But the other 98% of infants born in the US, who not at risk of acquiring Hep B, do not need to get this vaccine in the first few weeks of their life.
There is no way to prove or disprove this connection between vaccines and autism. You have to know the cause of autism to be able to confirm if vaccines are a cause. Plus, it does not mean vaccines plus some additive in food, plus who knows what else in combination does it. Heck, the vaccines my wife and I had as children could be the reason our daughter is autistic. It was out of place to panic over vaccines but it is also incorrect to completely dismiss vaccines as a contributor as well. Remember, the medical industry had no problem putting out a polio vaccine that actually have polio to a couple of children a year and playing god, they decided the sacrifice of a couple of children was for the greater good. So I would not put it past the medical industry to make a claim of no connection, just to endure parents keep getting children vaccinated.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe reality is we do not know what combination of chemicals, additives or anything is the cause and until we do know, nothing should be completely ruled out.
"...until we do know, nothing should be completely ruled out."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisReally? How about "refrigerator mothers?" Can we rule out that cause? According to you, we can't.
Diabetes Type 1 and 1 is clearly from
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEnvironmental factors, the people are blamed for type 2 diabetes when a filmmaker proved that the illness is given to people from Food chemicals that are feed to the farm animals http://spirithappy.org
Due to a narrow set of objectives defined for the IOM by the government, the report only looked at a small set of published research studies linking just two vaccines to developmental disorders such as autism.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOnly four epidemiological studies were considered of sufficient quality to evaluate the MMR vaccine in relation to autism and no studies were deemed of sufficient quality for the DtaP vaccine and autism analysis.
The committee did not attempt to evaluate six other vaccines for autism causation, the safety of the cumulative vaccine schedule and health outcomes like autism, or the safety of vaccine ingredients like mercury and aluminum in the context of chemical exposures from other sources like air pollution or consumer products.
The report considered 158 potential adverse outcomes from vaccines. Of these, 135 or 85% were found to have inadequate research to accept or reject a causal association. Of the 23 outcomes where the research was deemed adequate, 18 or 78% were found supportive of harm. Vaccines were cleared of safety concerns for just five of the outcomes considered.
“These statistics are hardly reassuring to parents who are now asked to give their young children over 32 vaccinations,” noted Sallie Bernard, President of SafeMinds. The report found likely causality of immune dysfunction, seizures and encephalopathy from some vaccines. These conditions are often found in individuals with autism. “It is plausible that a subset of children became autistic because of these adverse events from their vaccines.”
1) If you want to have a debate about this topic please don't just copy and paste (see above). When you copy and paste from autism sites you are: 1) not thinking for yourself and 2) publishing misleading and harmful information.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this2) Sound peer reviewed scientific studies have ruled out a link between vaccines and autism. There's not a conspiracy here. People go to school and get trained for a very long time to work on these issues. Most of them are paid very little to do so.
3) Kudos to whiteandnerdy for bringing this up in the last article: Childhood Hepatitis B Virus Infections in the United States Before Hepatitis B Immunization.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/108/5/1123.short
3b) HepB isn't only transmitted through sex. There are a variety of other was that it can be transmitted. Please go do some research on this virus.
4) Canada has universal health care and their vaccination schedule is similar to the US. Germany and England are also similar to the US.
Dr Baylock has provided what he considers to be definitive proof of a connection .The government is a bunch of pathological liars.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI couldn't agree more. I think other vaccines could be postponed and staggered as well, atleast until the child has a stronger immune system.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'd love to see some stats on Autism in non-vaccinated people (discounting the ones that have been subjected to mercury/thimerosal and neomycin)
"inadequate evidence to accept or reject a casual relationship" Shouldn't that be causal, not casual? Or are we still talking about vaccination here?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI believe that I read in another article, possibly on this site, that you can get all the vaccines in seperate form already it just cost a lot more. so if your worried about it go that route and pay for the individual vaccines at a rate you feel a safe time interval has passed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe pharmaceutical companies and pediatricians could make more money if they offered separate shots, and spaced out the schedule. The alternative schedule concocted by Dr. Bob Sears calls for nearly twice as many office visits as the AAP schedule. So why don't they? I thought it was all about profit with vaccine makers an physicians? Or could it be that the current schedule is simply the product of the best available research and thinking on the topic of childhood immunizations?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe content of my July 13, 2011 Baltimore Sun op-ed has been inaccurately described by other commenters. My article’s main point was a simple fact, a number: The federal government recommends 36 doses of vaccines for every child during the first two years of life.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis number comes directly from analysis of Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) reports, and it was meticulously checked with the lead author of the federal "General Recommendations on Immunization."
My article concludes by asking: Is this too many, too few or just right? Contrary to what some have said, my article does not answer these questions. It just asks them.
It is totally without accuracy when calls me an "anti-vaccine activist." Presenting solid facts about vaccines — 36 recommended doses before age two — provides information that can help improve our country's immunization efforts to ensure that children are both free from disease and free from adverse reactions to vaccination. Also, I am the proud recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Dale Richmond Award for outstanding achievement in the field of child development.
I urge you to read my actual article, rather than relying on some inaccurate secondary source or hearsay that mischaracterizes what I said. You can find the full article, “We Don't Know Enough About Childhood Vaccines,” at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-vaccines-illness-20110711,0,7906966.story
Margaret Dunkle
What HAS been observed for long is that mercury is a poison that makes people nervous, occasionally bordering on quasi-psychotic behavior, and its accumulation in various organs has been documented in scientific studies. Most vaccines are sterilized using thymerosal - a mercury compound.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSince no one is supposed to conduct in vivo studies some people will never be convinced. Plus it is an elusive material so it is very difficult to trace.
This is the origin of the English expression "Mad Hatter." Makers of top hats used mercury baths for their products for a while, therefore they were not served alcohol in pubs.
I suffered from mercury leaking from a host of bad quality dental fillings between 1990-95. Even the experience of clearing it by natural absorbents was horrible.
Though the direct cause of autism is not known and may be even manifold - genes, environment, communication in babyhood, contaminants in pregnancy etc. it stands to reason not to add too many mercury-containing mixes in a very short time.
Also, it is legitimate that others may have different philosophies of healing, stressing the importance of the human immune system. From that POV, it is only logical that overwhelming a baby with too much durign a short period of time is like buying a computer and overloading it by installing hundreds of programs instead of just those clearly needed.