Adelaide Now – TWO months ago, Jessica Lock was a typical 13-year-old – outgoing, healthy and happy. Yet now she is a stranger in her own home, racked by an array of mysterious ailments. A week after being administered in February with the anti-cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil at her school, the teenager began fainting and experiencing strong head pains – and her parents say she has lapsed into a semi-permanent, child-like state. Mother Shelley Lock believes her daughter suffered a severe and extremely rare reaction to Gardasil but said public hospital staff had been unwilling to examine a link, with one doctor inferring Jessica’s condition was psychosomatic. Read Article
Although the benefits of preventing suffering and death from serious infectious diseases greatly outweigh the risks of rare adverse effects following immunization, disputes have arisen over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination. One particular economic challenge in vaccine development is that many of the diseases most demanding a vaccine (such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis) exist principally in poor countries and there is little incentive for the pharma and biotech firms to develop those vaccines. Keep up to date on this interesting topic with a look at our vaccines news archive of 527 articles CLICK HERE
Two years ago in a massive public health push, the Australian government decided that the flu season needed to be aggressively managed by ‘encouraging’ people to take up the flu vaccine. Two years later with a litany of child fatalities and adverse reaction, and the same vaccine, Fluvax, is still being spruiked by Australia’s doctors. Our reporter, Marla Singer, investigates. CLICK HERE TO READ
Medical News Today – Findings released Friday showed that infant monkeys given vaccines officially recommended by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) exhibited autism-like symptoms. Lead investigator Laura Hewitson of the University of Pittsburgh and colleagues presented study results at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in London. Safety studies of medicines are typically conducted in monkeys prior to use in humans, yet such basic research on the current childhood vaccination regimen has never before been done. The vaccines given were those recommended for U.S. infants in the 1990s, including several with the mercury preservative thimerosal and the Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccine. Rates of autism spectrum disorder among children born in the 1990s surged dramatically, from about 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 150 children. Read article
Toronto Star – Pediatricians in Canada are starting to discharge children whose parents refuse to have them vaccinated. More and more, doctors are taking a stand when their medical advice is being ignored, said Dr. Hirotaka Yamashiro, chair of the pediatrics section for the Ontario Medical Association and president of the Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario. “There have been some pediatricians who are very concerned about that, and may not take on the patient in the beginning,” Yamashiro said. “If you are going to fundamentally disagree with one of the things I think is good for your child, what else are we going to have a problem with?” Dr. Fatima Kamalia, a Thornhill-based pediatrician, says she discharges patients whose parents refuse to have them vaccinated. Read Article
The Australian Doctor – The influenza vaccine at the centre of the recent febrile convulsion scare in children has now been linked to an increased risk of adverse events among adolescents and adults. In a safety review of seasonal flu vaccines, a Federal Government working group found the risk of adverse events following Fluvax was “modestly higher” than that of rival brands Vaxigrip and Influvac. Read article
ABC – The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says there is no excuse for GPs administering banned vaccines amid data showing children were given the controversial flu shot, Fluvax. The Federal Health Department has confirmed the CSL product was given to a handful of children under the age of five, causing one confirmed adverse reaction, with two other suspected cases. Read article
Editorial Note: The “adverse reaction” mentioned above was reported by The Australian (newspaper) to have put the child in Intesive Care Unit.
Aluminum vaccine adjuvants: are they safe?
Curr Med Chem. 2011;18(17):2630-7.
Authors: Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA.
Abstract:
Aluminum is an experimentally demonstrated neurotoxin and the most commonly used vaccine adjuvant. Despite almost 90 years of widespread use of aluminum adjuvants, medical science’s understanding about their mechanisms of action is still remarkably poor. There is also a concerning scarcity of data on toxicology and pharmacokinetics of these compounds. In spite of this, the notion that aluminum in vaccines is safe appears to be widely accepted. Read abstract
Reuters – A new study suggests that expensive, high-tech proton beam radiation doesn’t do any more for men with prostate cancer than the most commonly-used option. Proton beam radiation, heavily promoted by facilities that perform the treatment, also came with a higher risk of certain side effects compared to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), researchers found. Read article
UPI – Scientists say a prostate cancer treatment developed by a Danish company uses viruses with human DNA to stimulate the immune system to target cancer cells. Bavarian-Nordic Immunotherapeutics of Kvistgaard said the treatment leaves healthy cells unaffected. Read article
ABC – Pharmaceutical companies should make full data from their clinical trials publicly available so the risks and benefits of the drugs can be independently analysed, researchers say. The researchers have documented a number of cases in which access to full trial data “radically changed public knowledge of safety and efficacy” of widely used drugs, including Vioxx and Tamiflu. Read article
Reuters Health – Two-month-old babies who receive immunizations in the afternoon sleep better afterward than children who have their shots in the morning, according to a new study. The results suggest a potential method for helping babies sleep through the occasional discomfort that accompanies vaccination, rather than taking a fever reducer as has often been recommended. Sleep is important after getting shots, said lead author Linda Franck, because sleep “is a sign of a vaccine response, and it’s important to maximizing that response.” Acetaminophen, which goes by the brand name Tylenol, is commonly given to babies in advance of vaccinations to reduce any increase in temperature and to make them more comfortable. Read Article
To better understand Problem, Reaction, Solution visit our feature page, HERE
CN – The Food and Drug Administration is not liable for approving a mercury-based vaccine preservative because more expensive, mercury-free vaccines are available upon request, a federal judge ruled. Thimerosal is a mercury-based compound that is FDA-approved as a vaccine preservative. Organizations such as the Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs, however, have expressed concern about the preservative. As a precautionary measure, most vaccines administered to children or pregnant women do not include thimersosal, but the flu vaccine is a significant exception. “Thimerosal-preserved flu vaccines are necessary to ensure sufficient supply at a reasonable price,” according to the judgment. Read article
Medical News Today – A new study turns the well established theory that antibodies are required for antiviral immunity upside down and reveals that an unexpected partnership between the specific and non-specific divisions of the immune system is critical for fighting some types of viral infections. The research, published online in the journal Immunity by Cell Press, may lead to a new understanding of the best way to help protect those exposed to potentially lethal viruses, such as the rabies virus. Read article
Related article: A 24-Karat Gold Key to Unlock the Immune System
Editorial Comment: This article has some clear implications about the effectiveness of vaccines; but thus far, it has only been proved with regard to some viruses, as indicated by the title. It has yet to be be proved that this theory holds true for all viruses, or bacteria. It was disappointing that no mainstream articles tackled the issue of the implications of this finding on vaccine effectiveness. If any reader finds a mainstream article that DOES tackle this subject, please contact OYEN.
Reuters – About one in 88 children in the United States has autism or a related disorder, the highest estimate to date and one that is sure to revive a national argument over how the condition is treated.Read article
Editorial Comment – The real question is not “how should it be treated”, but “what are we doing in the crucial early years of children’s lives that is causing this?”. Vaccines? Pollution? Food additives?
ScienceDaily — Developing a drug or vaccine requires a delicate balancing act with the immune system. On one hand, medications need to escape detection by the immune system in order to perform their function. But vaccinations — de-activated versions of a disease or virus — need to do the reverse. They prompt the immune system to create protective antibodies. But scientists are still stumped by how the immune system recognizes different particles, and how it chooses whether or not to react against them. Read article
WIAT- New, more effective vaccines will be decisive in the fight against TB. More than 10 million children have been orphaned by the disease, which is rapidly becoming resistant to available treatment options. Top scientific experts, all over the world, are working together to develop a vaccine that will eliminate TB on all fronts and levels. To address the many challenges posed by TB, ideal vaccine regimens must protect babies at birth from childhood TB, and prevent infection with the organism in older children and adults. A vaccine also is needed to protect people with latent TB who have not developed signs of the disease. Read article
Huffington Post – More children in the U.S. are being diagnosed with ADHD than even before — 10.4 million in 2010 — according to a new study that concluded a staggering rise in diagnoses of 66 percent since the year 2000. “There is increased concern on behalf of parents and teachers and doctors. There’s been a lot more press and advertising and public health announcements around diagnoses and treatment,” said Craig Garfield, a researcher at Northwestern University and the lead author of the study. “Therefore, more people are probably asking their doctors about (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).” Read article
Daily Mail – A doctor struck off over the MMR jab controversy yesterday won a High Court battle to clear his name. Professor John Walker-Smith had been found guilty of professional misconduct following claims he took part in unapproved research that suggested links between the vaccine, bowel disease and autism. Read Article
TOI – The state health department is investigating into the deaths of four infants, including three who died between February 19 and 25, when the oral polio vaccine (OPV) immunisation drive was in progress. The fourth infant died in Mumbai on February 29 and had been given OPV drops and two more vaccines – DPT (diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus) and hepatitis – a day earlier. Speaking to TOI on Friday, assistant director (immunisation) and in-charge of the immunisation drive V M Kulkarni said, “This year, we have reported deaths of three infants during the immunisation drive and one after the drive. We are investigating all the four deaths, which are, prima facie, coincidental.” Read article
AP – Federal health officials have approved the first vaccine that protects against four strains of the common flu, offering one additional layer of protection against the influenza virus that affects millions each year. The FluMist Quadrivalent vaccine from AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit protects against two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B. The Food and Drug Administration approved the spray-based vaccine for people ages 2 to 49. Read article
New American – Patricia Finn (left), a vaccine rights attorney in New York, is being targeted by the Ninth Judicial District, which is threatening to strip her license to practice law and file criminal charges against her. Finn has garnered a reputation for helping parents to protect their children from vaccines that are viewed as potentially dangerous, and also represents families of victims who have suffered adverse reactions to vaccinations. Among the anti-vaccine community Finn is touted as a hero, but those in favor of vaccinations view her as a villain. Read article
Washington Times – Despite lackluster acceptance among girls for a vaccine to prevent cancer-causing sexually transmitted viruses, the American Academy of Pediatrics is fully recommending that boys get the shots as well. Boys 11 and 12 should be immunized routinely, with three doses of a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), the AAP said Monday in its online issue of Pediatrics. This formally updates the academy’s previous policy of “permissive recommendation” for vaccination of males. The AAP has recommended since 2007 that girls ages 11 and 12 receive the HPV vaccine. The new policy should end any resistance among health insurers to covering HPV vaccines for boys. Each HPV shot cost about $130 in July; three shots are needed for the vaccine to be fully effective. Read Article
Editorial Comment – There are around 6 million 11 & 12 year old boys in the USA today. At $130 per shot, and 3 shots per child, that corresponds to $2.3 billion of extra sales potential for Merck.
Although the benefits of preventing suffering and death from serious infectious diseases greatly outweigh the risks of rare adverse effects following immunization, disputes have arisen over the morality, ethics, effectiveness, and safety of vaccination. One particular economic challenge in vaccine development is that many of the diseases most demanding a vaccine (such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis) exist principally in poor countries and there is little incentive for the pharma and biotech firms to develop those vaccines. Keep up to date on this interesting topic with a look at our vaccines news archive of 508 articles CLICK HERE
The Australian – AN anti-vaccine group has won its case against the health care watchdog after the group was ordered to warn that its website “should not be read as medical advice”. The NSW Supreme Court on Friday ruled the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) had no jurisdiction to issue a public warning about the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN). Read article
