Posted on 09/13/2011 1:58:21 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The nation's leading group of independent medical experts on Thursday weighed in on the debate over vaccine side effects, releasing a report that found few serious health problems are linked to immunizations.
After reviewing more than 1,000 scientific articles, experts at the Institute of Medicine found the controversy over certain vaccines and autism was completely unfounded. It also rejected any link between immunizations and Type I diabetes, Bell's palsy and asthma.
The report did find evidence of rare vaccine-related adverse effects that can range from mild seizures to fainting. For most of the more than 150 possible reactions studied, experts found there wasn't data to know if there is a link to vaccines.
Local physicians welcomed the rigorous, 667-page report, saying it reflects their own clinical experience and should reassure parents.
"If parents were given more balanced information saying, well, there are always possible side effects from vaccines, but most of them are mild — and the rare, more severe side effects are nothing compared to the severity of the illnesses we are trying to prevent — then this report will offer no surprises," said Dr. Juan Dumois, chairman of infectious diseases at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
The topic of vaccine side effects is so high-profile that Dr. Rick Wilde fields questions from parents daily in the Lutz office of the Pediatric Health Care Alliance.
"The common reactions are really essentially harmless," he said, citing mild fever, redness and swelling at the injection site.
Still, many parents want to know if he would vaccinate his own children according to the recommended schedule. (The answer is yes — and he has.)
Wilde hears fewer worries about vaccines and autism since a now-retracted British study linking the two has been thoroughly debunked. But parents often fear that the many shots given today could overload a baby's immune system.
"Even though we give more vaccines, we actually stress the immune system less than previous-generation immunizations did, so we can say very comfortably that we are not overstressing the immune system," said Wilde, who co-chairs the vaccination committee for the pediatric practice with offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.
After learning the risks and benefits, he said the vast majority of parents vaccinate on time.
Yet across Florida, the number of kindergarten students receiving "religious exemptions" to avoid state-required immunizations continues to rise, increasing nearly 12-fold since 1991. Experts believe the real objection often is not religion, but fear of rumored vaccine adverse effects.
Last school year, nearly 2,400 kindergarten students received such exemptions — roughly one percent of the class, according to state records.
The rise worries state officials seeing this year the most measles cases in 14 years. Pertussis (whooping cough) cases also are up nationally.
Dr. Ellen Wright Clayton, chair of the IOM panel and a pediatrics professor at Vanderbilt University, noted that the number of children dying from chicken pox has declined dramatically since vaccination became routine.
"People need to think about what the disease is like. Vaccines are a victim of their own success in this regard, because we don't see these things as much."
The live virus used in the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine can cause adverse effects, but almost always if the immune system is compromised by conditions such as HIV. Doctors are familiar with this issue, and know when to avoid vaccinating. "For a regular, running around kid, this is a great vaccine," Clayton said.
The panel found the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine can trigger febrile (fever-related) seizures, which pass quickly and don't cause long-term damage or epilepsy.
Six vaccines — MMR, varicella, influenza, hepatitis B, meningococcal and the tetanus-containing immunizations — can result in an allergic reaction soon after injection.
But this is a rare reaction physicians are aware of and can treat quickly.
Duh. Everyone knows autism is caused by being too close to a man who wears glasses.
But, Jenny McCarthy said they were linked; and she’s really hott ....
ping
However, the hysteria is often a result of a legitimate distrust of government officials, the officials lie at the drop of a hat and this leaves people uncertain of their leadership which in turn creates superstition and conspiracy theories.
Nothing to do with gubmint.
If we had an “official” neutral government then trust could occur. As it is governmental officials lie and are invariably interested parties. It is all theory anyway yet contains some truth.
Ping
There was a recent article that said that there were two types of autism; one had to do with a brain malformation and the other had to do with a compromised immune system. It makes me wonder if a series of doses of immunizations couldn’t push that compromised immune system over the edge and result in autism.
There are enough stories of babies being just fine until the day of, the next day after vaccines and then doing a 180 that I am open to the possibility that it was the immunizations that caused the problem.
An excellent case-in-point is the story of "subliminal advertising." Subliminal (subthreshold) perception, by definition, doesn't work (the stimulus is below perceptable threshold). Dr. Robert A. McCleary's work with this topic has yielded some interesting phenomena, but subliminal perception doesn't exist.
Yet laws abound outlawing subliminal advertisement and they were issued before any scientific studies of the alleged phenomenon had been done.
‘_______am open to the possibility that it was the immunizations_____’
Good for you.
Stay very aware.
Ignore the ‘loon’ name calling.
Perhaps you know pets also can be adversely affected - - -
Thanks, I do know that pets can be affected. My old guy I had stopped vaccinating; we unfortunately had to put him down a couple months ago because of adrenal cancer at the not so ripe old age of 13. My other dogs are only vaccinated for rabies and the other diseases we titer for after their initial puppy vaccines. I have mixed feelings about vaccinating for lepto; it really can be a horrible disease if they get it, but yearly doses appear not to be completely effective.
Since you seem to be interested in animals here’s a bit of info that’s off-topic, but I like to share. There was recently an article posted here about the lack of availability of heartworm cure. Make sure to keep you pets’ monthly coverage up to date. Also, a vet tech friend of mine was telling me there has been a new strain of heartworm reported in Louisiana and one other place that I am not remembering right now, but maybe Georgia. The pharms are supposedly working on new coverage/cure and I’m sure eventually they’ll find it, but that’s pretty scary to me
‘_______pets can be affected.’
Sorry about your ‘old guy’ loss.
Adrenal cancer - wow, that’s a different one.
Maybe you know there are chiropracters who don’t vaccinate - family and pets.
Actually, we are petless (it’s okay - really!), but I save newspapers for my friend to bring to the county shelter! Sometimes I add doggie treats, or pet food. They are thankful.
Two nearby daughters have dogs - one has 2 Collies, and the other, a golden Lab.
All neat dogs.
Daughter with the Collies does minimal vaccinations. None for her 3 daughters.
I’ll pass along the heartworm info to them.
Other 2 daughters have orange cats!
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