Posted on 1/16/2013
by Barbara Loe Fisher
by Barbara Loe Fisher
Yesterday, the Institute of Medicine issued a report The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence and Future Studies.
The report was based on a 12-month evaluation by an IOM committee of
the scientific evidence supporting the federally recommended child
vaccine schedule. The Committee made recommendations about the
feasibility of conducting research to evaluate the health outcomes of
vaccinated and unvaccinated children and those following an alternative
vaccine schedule.
Good News and Bad News
There is good news and bad news in this report. Good news: the
committee repeatedly pointed out the astonishing lack of quality
scientific studies to support the safety of the CDC-recommended numbers
of doses and timing of vaccinations for children 0 to 6 years old in the
child vaccine schedule. The committee confirmed there are large
knowledge gaps, especially about children with increased biological
susceptibility to suffering vaccine reactions and injuries.
Bad news: The committee’s recommendation is that the CDC should
conduct future vaccine safety studies using closed patient databases
like the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), which unfortunately prevent
independent replication of the findings. For more than two decades, NVIC
has called for independent vaccine safety research by investigators
without industry or government conflicts of interest.
NVIC’s Press Release: Call for Transparency
NVIC issued a press release last night that calls for transparency,
independence and replication in future vaccine safety research to
examine the safety of the child vaccine schedule. The outstanding
question every parent wants to answered remains: When will the real vaccine safety science conducted by researchers without industry or government conflicts of interest begin?
Click here to read press release and access live links.
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