Vaccination, inoculation, immunizations

[ladirushfan80]

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

When I see things like...

 

QUOTE

Merck is heavily promoting the vaccine through its salespeople imploring doctors to provide it and running TV ads urging young women to get vaccinated so there will be "One Less" cancer patient. But physicians disagree with public health officials over whether Gardasil is the panacea for cancer. Clayton Young, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Texas, objects to Merck's claim that Gardasil will prevent cervical cancer. "There is no proof Gardasil will stop cervical cancer," he said. "They haven't been studying it long enough to make that claim."

 

...then see this...

 

QUOTE

as Texas became the first state to make the vaccine mandatory for school- age girls.

 

...how is a vaccine as unproven as this MANDATORY? Holy shit.

[Dweezil]

[Dweezil]

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 28 2007, 08:11 PM)

When I see things like... QUOTE Merck is heavily promoting the vaccine through its salespeople imploring doctors to provide it and running TV ads urging young women to get vaccinated so there will be "One Less" cancer patient. But physicians disagree with public health officials over whether Gardasil is the panacea for cancer. Clayton Young, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Texas, objects to Merck's claim that Gardasil will prevent cervical cancer. "There is no proof Gardasil will stop cervical cancer," he said. "They haven't been studying it long enough to make that claim."   ...then see this...   QUOTE as Texas became the first state to make the vaccine mandatory for school- age girls.   ...how is a vaccine as unproven as this MANDATORY? Holy shit.                                     omfg i just noticed the pathetic lypsynching lol

[nobodys hero]

I stopped giving my children vaccines a few years ago. There are WAY too many shots they are now required to get. There have been so many articles about relationships between shots and autism. GG probably knows more about that. My son has ADHD and we took him to a person who reads irises and does all kinds of herbs and stuff. She herself has a child with ADHD, Autism and a psychosis of some kind(this child eventually killed himself). She was a dietician and held some other degrees medical related. Anyway she told me never to touch anouther needle to Cameron's skin. Her years of research had shown her that there were indeed side affects from the vaccines. She's not the only one who has told me this. There is a doctor who practices nearby that uses herbs to delete all of the poisons in the body from shots and supposedly once the she works with the kids they are totally different and symptom free.

[blonde77th]

I have a 12 ,13 & 16 year old Granddaughters & i don't know if this worth the unknown risks in later years. Or if they have children would it go to them .Makes me go H'mmmm

[ladirushfan80]

QUOTE (nobodys hero @ Oct 28 2007, 03:34 PM)

I stopped giving my children vaccines a few years ago. There are WAY too many shots they are now required to get. There have been so many articles about relationships between shots and autism. GG probably knows more about that. My son has ADHD and we took him to a person who reads irises and does all kinds of herbs and stuff. She herself has a child with ADHD, Autism and a psychosis of some kind(this child eventually killed himself). She was a dietician and held some other degrees medical related. Anyway she told me never to touch anouther needle to Cameron's skin. Her years of research had shown her that there were indeed side affects from the vaccines. She's not the only one who has told me this. There is a doctor who practices nearby that uses herbs to delete all of the poisons in the body from shots and supposedly once the she works with the kids they are totally different and symptom free.

now i find this very interesting indeed!

 

how did you get around the schools with this?

 

i have a sheet from the dr.s with the immunization list/ schedule for ryan. (just for that reason, the school) and she's "missing" a lot of shots, apparently.

 

like 1-0-0-1 and i were saying.... it's amazing how many vaccines the kids are 'subjected' to now a days, compared to the few we had as kids.

 

like, for instance, the chicken pox vaccine (which my kids have both had). doesn't mean you WON'T get chicken pox... isn't GG's son going thru this right now? AND he had the vaccine too! altho i've heard the severity of this isn't supposed to be as bad with having the vaccine in their system....

 

and don't even get into the COST of these vaccines!!!

 

well, ok... lets go there. the Gardisal shots ALONE gave me sticker shock with the $150.00 ea. price tag attached to it. the girls had 2 other shots that day as well. it was a regular annual check up, and it cost over $500.00 that day, for ONE CHILD.

 

 

 

[Arleen2112]

Thank you for posting this..

 

I have recently been reading up on this vaccine for my 14 year old daughter

 

 

[nobodys hero]

QUOTE (ladirushfan80 @ Oct 29 2007, 04:09 AM)

QUOTE (nobodys hero @ Oct 28 2007, 03:34 PM) I stopped giving my children vaccines a few years ago.  There are WAY too many shots they are now required to get.  There have been so many articles about relationships between shots and autism.  GG probably knows more about that.  My son has ADHD and we took him to a person who reads irises and does all kinds of herbs and stuff.  She herself has a child with ADHD, Autism and a psychosis of some kind(this child eventually killed himself).  She was a dietician and held some other degrees medical related.  Anyway she told me never to touch anouther needle to Cameron's skin.  Her years of research had shown her that there were indeed side affects from the vaccines.  She's not the only one who has told me this.  There is a doctor who practices nearby that uses herbs to delete all of the poisons in the body from shots and supposedly once the she works with the kids they are totally different and symptom free. now i find this very interesting indeed!   how did you get around the schools with this?   i have a sheet from the dr.s with the immunization list/ schedule for ryan. (just for that reason, the school) and she's "missing" a lot of shots, apparently.   like 1-0-0-1 and i were saying.... it's amazing how many vaccines the kids are 'subjected' to now a days, compared to the few we had as kids.   like, for instance, the chicken pox vaccine (which my kids have both had). doesn't mean you WON'T get chicken pox... isn't GG's son going thru this right now? AND he had the vaccine too! altho i've heard the severity of this isn't supposed to be as bad with having the vaccine in their system....   and don't even get into the COST of these vaccines!!!   well, ok... lets go there. the Gardisal shots ALONE gave me sticker shock with the $150.00 ea. price tag attached to it. the girls had 2 other shots that day as well. it was a regular annual check up, and it cost over $500.00 that day, for ONE CHILD. Ladi, the schools have a form you can sign waiving the shots. It is against the law to force you to have shots if you don't want them.

[iluvgeddy05]

QUOTE (ladirushfan80 @ Oct 29 2007, 07:09 AM)

like, for instance, the chicken pox vaccine (which my kids have both had). doesn't mean you WON'T get chicken pox... isn't GG's son going thru this right now? AND he had the vaccine too! altho i've heard the severity of this isn't supposed to be as bad with having the vaccine in their system....

My nephew got the chicken pox vaccine and now...he has the chicken pox. He's 3! Again, I guess it's not that bad, but still...I had them when I was like 6? Without being vaccinated...I survived. I may be wrong about this but I don't think the chicken pox in most cases is life-threatening. It just sucks.

 

 

The Guardisil issue is trickey. I think it's great that they may be onto something good, but requiring it at this stage in the game is crazy. I think it should be the woman's choice. I'm 24 and probably won't get it, not because I think I am immune to HPV and whatnot, but because I don't trust that a simple round of shots is going to prevent me forever. Also another reason I don't get a flu shot. I've known people to get the flu shot and still get the flu -- OR get sick from the shot itself.

 

In the end, I'd rather take precautions against things than let some shot solve all my problems.

[condemned2bfree]

http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html

[edie]

Guys, I'm only going to post once on this thread, and not going to enter into an argument with anyone about this.

 

You all make your decisions about your own and your children's health based on the evidence available, and you have the right to make your own choices (I'm absolutely opposed to mandatory vaccination, which we don't have in the UK, simply because it's wrong to force anyone to do anything with their bodies that they don't wish to do).

 

But as a scientist, I should give you a few points for you to consider:

 

 

1. The way side effects are reported by health professionals is to report any associated ill health. It's important to realize that it's possible for the ill health to be co-incidental i.e. not caused by the vaccination, but just happens at the same time as it.

 

When 12 and 13 year old girls are vaccinated it's almost inevitable that some will faint - some because of the standing in line, some because of needle phobia, some because they are otherwise unwell, or menstruating, or making a scene to get out of class....... Those who are epileptic may have had a fit anyway, or may have been triggered by the stress of waiting for a jab.

 

So it's not clear whether Guardisil is to blame, and what the risk actually is.

 

 

2. There is no (and has never been any) thiomersal in a live vaccine such as the MMR. It's impossible. Thiomersal is a preservative. You can't preserve a live vaccine, or you destroy the vaccine.

 

3. The flu jab is never 100% effective - you may be unlucky and get a strain not contained in the current year's vaccine. Or you may have had a bad cold. If it didn't confine you to bed for a week, it wasn't flu!

 

People sometimes feel a bit ill after the jab because of the immune response to the vaccine. Basically it's your body producing the antibodies it will need if you are exposed to the wild flu virus. That's not the same as flu.

 

If you are in an at risk group it's definitely worth having the jab. The flu vaccine may make you feel a bit dodgy for a day or so - but the flu itself can kill you. Seriously.

 

4. Autism and ASD diagnoses are rising. This may be because we are better at diagnosing. There's less stigma these days in having a child with ASD, and if you are diagnosed you can get access to treatments.

 

In the UK, the prevailing fear amongst some parents is that the MMR causes autism, following a (wholly discredited) report by one paediatrician studying about 12 children. This has led to a decline in uptake of the MMR (and an increase dincidence of measles, mumps and rubella), but no associated decline in autism. Was MMR the cause, you'd expect to see a decline.

 

5. Herbs and things aren't necessarily safe While many herbal treatments may well be effective for a variety of problems, they aren't necessarily a safe alternative to manufactured medicines.

 

For a start, many poisons are "natural" e.g. digoxin from foxgloves (digitalis), taxanes from yew (used to make the chemotherapy agents Taxol and Taxotere). Also, if you start with (say) 10g of some leaves, you have no idea what the concentration of your drug is - it all depends onthe conditions under which the plant was grown.

 

And you have no idea whether your supplier is a quack, or a charlatan. Lets hope most of them are good people, but you don't necessarily know.

 

6. And finally - what's in it for them? A great deal of the media panic around vaccination can be traced back to alternative medicine practitioners who have something they want to sell you. At worst, this could be preying on the vulnerable at their worst time.

 

 

That's all. Be cautious my friends. Treat the alt med people, the newspapers and the internet with the same degree of healthy scepticism with which you regard Big Pharma, politicians and lawyers and you'll make good choices.

 

 

 

 

[GhostGirl]

QUOTE (edie @ Oct 29 2007, 01:19 PM)

4. Autism and ASD diagnoses are rising. This may be because we are better at diagnosing. There's less stigma these days in having a child with ASD, and if you are diagnosed you can get access to treatments.

Simply not possible.

 

If it's simply a case of better diagnosis, then that means for the 30-some odd years (or even longer) since autism was recognized that 1 in 150 children have been diagnosed. That should give us a huge population of autistic adults.

 

I simply don't see them.

 

I do, however, see lots and lots of children being diagnosed NOW.

 

The numbers are rising. It is an EPIDEMIC. People who continue to believe that it's simply a matter of better diagnosis are ignoring the problem. The world is a toxic place, and I believe that children who have the genetic predisposition to autism are being poisoned (for lack of a better term) by something in their environment, be it a shot or all the crap we breathe in every day.

 

Studies done in Amish communities seem to support this. Autism is nearly non-existent in those groups. They live a more simple life, usually farther away from industrial areas, and they don't vaccinate.

 

Until somebody shows me the huge number of autistic adults, this is the stand I'm taking.

 

Oh, and the stigma is still very much present, at least where I live.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

QUOTE (edie @ Oct 29 2007, 02:19 PM)

Guys, I'm only going to post once on this thread, and not going to enter into an argument with anyone about this. 6. And finally - what's in it for them?  A great deal of the media panic around vaccination can be traced back to alternative medicine practitioners who have something they want to sell you. At worst, this could be preying on the vulnerable at their worst time.

From the article quoted above:

 

QUOTE

Vaccine Center Issues Warning The Washington Times February 3, 2007 The National Vaccine Information Center yesterday warned state officials to investigate the safety of a breakthrough cancer vaccine as Texas became the first state to make the vaccine mandatory for school- age girls. Negative side effects of Gardasil, a new Merck vaccine to prevent the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, are being reported in the District of Columbia and 20 states, including Virginia. The reactions range from loss of consciousness to seizures. Merck is heavily promoting the vaccine through its salespeople imploring doctors to provide it and running TV ads urging young women to get vaccinated so there will be "One Less" cancer patient. "There is no proof Gardasil will stop cervical cancer," he said. "They haven't been studying it long enough to make that claim."

Are you saying Big Pharma isn't "preying on the vulnerable at their worst time"? Judging from that, and from the exorbitant price they're charging for this vaccine, it sure looks like it to me.

 

I know you said you weren't going to respond, but I had to bring that up.

[edie]

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Oct 29 2007, 08:44 PM)

QUOTE (edie @ Oct 29 2007, 02:19 PM) Guys, I'm only going to post once on this thread, and not going to enter into an argument with anyone about this. 6. And finally - what's in it for them?  A great deal of the media panic around vaccination can be traced back to alternative medicine practitioners who have something they want to sell you. At worst, this could be preying on the vulnerable at their worst time. From the article quoted above:   QUOTE Vaccine Center Issues Warning The Washington Times February 3, 2007 The National Vaccine Information Center yesterday warned state officials to investigate the safety of a breakthrough cancer vaccine as Texas became the first state to make the vaccine mandatory for school- age girls. Negative side effects of Gardasil, a new Merck vaccine to prevent the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, are being reported in the District of Columbia and 20 states, including Virginia. The reactions range from loss of consciousness to seizures. Merck is heavily promoting the vaccine through its salespeople imploring doctors to provide it and running TV ads urging young women to get vaccinated so there will be "One Less" cancer patient. "There is no proof Gardasil will stop cervical cancer," he said. "They haven't been studying it long enough to make that claim." Are you saying Big Pharma isn't "preying on the vulnerable at their worst time"? Judging from that, and from the exorbitant price they're charging for this vaccine, it sure looks like it to me.   I know you said you weren't going to respond, but I had to bring that up. Yes, sorry, I forgot that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to carry out direct marketing of prescription medicines in the USA. They aren't over here.   It's deplorable, of course, and in my view unethical.   However the National Vaccines Information Center hardly covers itself with glory - with its official-sounding name and home page designed to scare the wits out of parents.   Happy to discuss with polite rational people such as your good selves. My experiences elsewhere have been of entrenched rabid fanatics on either side of the fence.   Myself I'm open to be persuasion by the facts, and if it turns out that there is real evidence of harm caused by vaccination I'll willingly change my view.

[ladirushfan80]

QUOTE (condemned2bfree @ Oct 29 2007, 11:31 AM)

http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html

wow...

great website!!

thanks for posting that

[owlswing]

QUOTE (ladirushfan80 @ Oct 29 2007, 07:09 AM)

like, for instance, the chicken pox vaccine (which my kids have both had).  doesn't mean you WON'T get chicken pox...

 

My 3 older kids had the chicken pox vaccination...THEY ALL got chicken pox, one of them even got it twice.

 

Now my 2 cents on Flu vaccination - they have been known to cause problems in those that have autoimmune disorders. Most of these disorders aren't even found until kids have received vaccinations and experience adverse reactions. I know our lives were sent in a talespin after a "simple" flu shot.

 

 

 

As for the Opting out in NJ...It may come down to only if a medical need...My kids Dr also mentioned this...

 

 

 

Will N.J. require flu shots for kids?

Saturday, January 27, 2007

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

 

 

Children attending preschool or licensed day care centers in North Jersey would be required to receive flu and pneumonia vaccinations under a controversial proposal by the state Health Department.

 

The plan would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to require that all children between ages 6 months and 5 years receive an annual influenza immunization, and that children ages 2 months to 5 years get pneumonia shots, officials said at a public hearing Friday in Trenton.

 

The rules proposed by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services also would require shots for 11- to 12-year-olds attending school -- one to prevent meningitis and the other a booster shot to counter the resurgence of whooping cough.

 

If the proposals become law, they "would have to have the appropriate medical exemptions" for children who can not physically tolerate the vaccinations, Bergen County schools Superintendent Aaron Graham said Friday.

 

What's proposed

 

 

Annual flu shots for children between 6 months and 5 years old and pneumonia shots for children between 2 months and 5 years old attending preschool or licensed day care centers.

 

 

Vaccination against meningitis and a whooping cough booster shot for 11- to 12-year-olds attending school.

 

If the exemptions are included, the school district would follow the new regulations, Graham.

 

"We're looking to be as proactive as possible in terms of safety for all the county's 134,000 public school students," he said.

 

Regina Klaatsch, owner of the Children's Country Day School in Paramus, said most of her preschoolers have not had flu shots because they are not required.

 

"It doesn't seem like a lot of parents or pediatricians are eager to give them flu shots," Klaatsch said Friday.

 

Although she might not personally push for immunizations, her school would comply if it were mandated, Klaatsch said.

 

Two public health officials and a representative of the state's American Medical Association affiliate supported the proposal, saying it is needed to prevent disease outbreaks. But most of the approximately 30 people attending Friday's hearing said the state should not require young children to get four more vaccinations, including the annual flu shot.

 

Many speakers identified themselves as parents of "vaccine-damaged children," saying they believe ingredients in some vaccines, particularly mercury and formaldehyde, are responsible for autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other increasingly common neurological problems with children.

 

"We're pumping toxins into our children's bodies," said Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination. "The government refuses to recognize the correlation between more vaccines and more disabilities."

 

Robert Gilmartin, school superintendent in Passaic County, also had reservations.

 

"I think the issue of vaccine safety is bigger than a lot of officials give credit to," said Gilmartin, who was not at the hearing. "People today are getting more and more skeptical about putting things into their body."

 

More emphasis placed on hygiene might be just as effective, he said.

 

But Dr. Jeffrey Boscamp of Hackensack University Medical Center said he favored the proposals, particularly flu vaccinations for children ages 6 months to 2 years.

 

"That's a group that's at very high risk for actually dying from flu," said Boscamp, chairman of pediatrics at Hackensack.

 

Though rare, meningitis "is an incredibly deadly disease" that is preventable in most cases with a new protein-based vaccine, he said. The state's proposals, he said, "are going to save lives."

 

Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the state epidemiologist, said there is no evidence supporting criticism of the vaccines, and that New Jersey is acting on recommendations from major government and medical groups.

 

"Children are the principal vector for transmitting influenza and other respiratory illnesses" to other children and vulnerable adults, Bresnitz said. Public comment will continue through Feb. 16 on the proposals which, if approved, take effect in September.

 

 

[owlswing]

Polio Vaccinations

 

As a parent I was told to use EXTREME care after my kids got the vaccination... Take a look here...

 

http://www.nvic.org/Articles/gnsvigne.htm

[OriginalFan]

To make something mandatory that is not a public health risk is a sign that the government has gone WAY TOO FAR past its area of responsibility. While I don't agree with it, I can see where government officials *might* feel obligated to require immunizations for highly contagious and frequently lethal illnesses like measles and diptheria, but to extend this to the HPV vaccine for girls is ridiculous. My daughter isn't going to catch HPV at school, for pete's sake. While vaccinating against HPV is a noble idea, the bottom line is that cervical cancer is a result of lifestyle choices - another area in which the government should have no say either. It's my responsibility as a parent to do the right thing without governmental coercion.

 

OK, thank you for letting me vent that!

 

L

[ladirushfan80]

QUOTE (owlswing @ Oct 30 2007, 09:13 AM)

Polio Vaccinations As a parent I was told to use EXTREME care after my kids got the vaccination... Take a look here... http://www.nvic.org/Articles/gnsvigne.htm

 

i was NEVER told that when any of my three girls were immunized!!!!!

 

 

f**k...

 

this is just so crazy...

 

 

 

and OriginalFan... your welcome for the vent!

that was one of the purposes behind this thread in the first place!

[OriginalFan]

QUOTE (OriginalFan @ Oct 30 2007, 09:47 AM)

My daughter isn't going to catch HPV at school, for pete's sake.

You know, not long after I wrote that, I discovered that a sex scandal actually *had* occurred at my daughter's high school. So I was wrong - girls COULD potentially get HPV at school after all!

 

That doesn't change the fact that it's still my responsibility to teach her right behavior, though, which hopefully I have - she wasn't involved in the scandal, thank heavens. My goal right now is to keep her as unpopular as possible.

 

You folks are wonderful; I sure appreciate this forum!

 

L

[Paragon]

Not directly responsive to the question of the possible dangers of vaccination/immunization, but more along the autism line...

 

...I know diagnoses are rising, and honestly, I sometimes worry about that. I'm afraid we may, in some cases, be marginalising a segment of the population that used to be considered just eccentric or quirky before we became so skilled at diagnosing these things.

 

I was twenty-eight when I was diagnosed as a high-functioning autistic with borderline obssessive-compulsive disorder. They presented me with a boatload of medications and support group options and whatnot, and seemed to almost expect that I'd be traipsing off to institutionalize myself in response.

 

For crying out LOUD.

 

I'm not always the most personable of individuals. I get sidetracked into my own personal reality sometimes, and don't respond when spoken to. I'm uncomfortable with too much eye contact, and unless I'm focusing on facial expressions, I'll forget to smile. I also eat my M-n-Ms in order by color.

 

So what? I have a family, own a small business, and in general live a productive, happy life. Should I throw that out because now "I'm autistic?"

 

Please understand, I'm not belittling the struggles of parents whose children will never be able to function independently. I got a mild splash from the pool in which others are struggling to avoid drowning, and I'm grateful every day for what I have. I just hate to see children slapped with alphabet disorder labels and then encouraged to see that as a reason to stop trying.

 

Sorry for the sideline rant. I will now return you to your regularly scheduled program, whilst I return myself to this glass of lovely chardonnay.

[1-0-0-1-0-0-1]

Thousands of Kids Get Dud Vaccines

 

DES MOINES, Iowa (Dec. 4) - Every year, thousands of American children go through the tearful, teeth-gritting ordeal of getting their vaccinations, only to be forced to do it all over again. The vaccines were duds, ruined by poor refrigeration.

 

It is more than a source of distress for parent and child. It is a public health threat, because youngsters given understrength vaccines are unprotected against dangerous diseases. And it accounts for a big part of the $20 million in waste incurred by the federal Vaccines for Children program.

 

"This is a substantial problem that needs to be addressed through prevention, and when problems are discovered, often times through revaccinations," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of immunization services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

 

By CDC estimates, hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines against such diseases as flu, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, mumps, measles, chicken pox and the cervical cancer virus are thrown out each year because of poor refrigeration at clinics, hospitals and doctors' offices.

 

In one recent case in Sioux City, Iowa, more than 1,000 families were notified by letter and telephone that they needed to get their children revaccinated. State officials found that the refrigerator at the clinic that administered the shots repeatedly dropped below freezing over a 17-month period in 2005 and 2006, potentially ruining the vaccines stored there.

 

"We just didn't notice it," said Dr. Ray Sturdevant, president of the Prairie Pediatrics and Adolescent Clinic.

 

Poor refrigeration has been blamed for similar problems elsewhere around the country over the past 2 1/2 years:

 

-- In St. Cloud, Minn., a clinic had to revaccinate 8,600 patients, most of them children.

 

-- In Lane County, Ore., 500 children and adults had to get another shot.

 

-- In western Florida, it happened to about 250 kids.

 

In Sioux City and other cases, the spoilage resulted from a combination of factors: The refrigerator malfunctioned or was not set or maintained at the proper temperature - a problem that can be caused simply by leaving the door open for a while - and the workers responsible for regularly logging the temperature did not seem to recognize when the readings were off.

 

"We do everything we can to advise and to make people aware that this is very expensive vaccines they're dealing with and we really want to handle it properly and store it properly to prevent these things from happening - but they do," said Charles Alexander, chief of immunization with the Florida Health Department.

 

Inadequate refrigeration can cause vaccines to lose their potency, although experts say spoiled childhood vaccines are not dangerous in themselves if given to a youngster.

 

And there are no known cases of children contracting a disease because they had been given a vaccine rendered ineffective by poor refrigeration. But it could happen, and "that's why we're concerned about it," Rodewald said.

 

Since 2000 the CDC has pushed state health departments to visit clinics and check their refrigerators. Most states require clinics to use refrigerators with reliable thermometers that can be monitored, and staff members must know what to do when temperatures are above or below the proper range, Rodewald said.

 

Waste costs the $2 billion-a-year federal Vaccines for Children Program about $20 million a year, and the biggest single problem is improper refrigeration, Rodewald said. Other causes: The vaccines expire or were damaged in shipment.

 

Rodewald had no breakdown of how much in waste is attributable to poor refrigeration. But he emphasized that the losses amount to an extremely small percentage of the childhood vaccine program.

 

"The childhood program saves $10 billion each year in direct health care costs by preventing disease among children," he said. "Although preventing vaccine wastage is a priority, the amount wasted should be placed in the context of the overall program economic benefits."

 

Altogether in 2006, there were 32 instances in Iowa in which vaccines were not refrigerated correctly, said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, state epidemiologist. Quinlisk would not say how many patients were affected, but estimated $750,000 worth of vaccine in the Vaccine for Children Program was wasted.

 

"We will get months and months and months of vaccine refrigerator logs where the refrigerator is out of the temperature and nobody has done anything except every day mark down it's out of temperature," she said.

 

In the Minnesota case, the refrigerator was not kept at the proper temperature and there were gaps in documentation, said Jill Marette of the Minnesota Department of Health.

 

"It's stressful to vaccinate your children in the first place - just the idea of giving them all those shots. Then you have to think about getting revaccinated," Marette said.

 

Of greatest concern is the chickenpox vaccine. It must be kept frozen at an average temperature of 5 degrees or lower and should be kept in the dark. Children who receive an ineffective vaccine could easily become infected because the disease is fairly common in the U.S.

 

Dr. Joseph Bocchini, chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases with the American Academy of Pediatrics, said his group and others have issued clear recommendations about storing vaccines, and refrigerators can be equipped with alarms that sound when the temperature goes out of range.

 

 

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/thousands-of-...204215709990001

[ladirushfan80]

lovely....

 

[owlswing]

1 Million Doses of Hib Vaccine Recalled

No Illnesses Reported From Recalled Merck Hib Vaccine

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDDec. 12, 2007 -- The CDC and FDA today announced the recall of a million doses of children's Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib vaccine) due to concerns of sterility of the product.

 

No health problems have been reported, and no tainted vaccines have been found, says CDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH.

 

"Right now, this is not a health-threatening situation for children," Gerberding said at a news conference this afternoon. "We have had no cases of reported injury or adverse events with the Hib vaccine involved in this recall."

 

Advice for Parents

The recalled vaccines, made by the drug company Merck, are fully potent. Children who received the vaccines don't need to be revaccinated.

 

The concern is that the vaccine may be contaminated with bacteria, said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's immunization center.

 

"No product has been found to have bacteria in it, but it is theoretically possible something slipped through," Schuchat said at the news conference.

 

Children who recently received the Hib vaccine may show symptoms at the injection site. Things to look for include local skin bumps or abscesses. Any problems would appear within a few days; after a week, problems are unlikely, says Schuchat.

 

Should symptoms appear, parents should contact a doctor.

 

About the Hib Vaccine

Every year, 14 million doses of the Hib vaccine are given in the U.S.

 

The Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib vaccine) prevents serious bacterial infections, including:

 

Meningitis, an infection of the covering of the brain and spinal cord

Pneumonia, a lung infection

The CDC recommends the Hib vaccine for all children under 5 years old in the U.S., with doses starting when children are 2 months old. So far, no changes have been made to these recommendations.

 

The Hib vaccine isn't related to the flu vaccine.

 

The CDC also recommends the Hib vaccine for some older children or adults with special health conditions including sickle cell disease, HIV/AIDS, spleen removal, bone marrow transplant, or cancer treatment with certain drugs.

 

 

Hib Vaccine Recall

The Hib vaccine recall involves 12 lots of PedvaxHIB and COMVAX.

 

"These lots of PedvaxHIB and COMVAX are being recalled due to lack of assurance of product sterility," states the FDA's recall notice.

 

All of the recalled vaccines are made by Merck. Hib vaccines made by other companies aren't being recalled.

 

A Merck spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment.

 

With additional reporting by Daniel J. DeNoon.