8/17/13

MMR vaccine side-effects 'not fully tested' | Mail Online

MMR vaccine side-effects 'not fully tested'

Further doubts about the safety of the controversial MMR vaccine have been raised with the publication of research which said trials of the jab were inadequate and did not address fears about its long-term effects. There was not 'adequate evidence of safety' of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, Dr Andrew Wakefield, consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London said. Trials of the vaccine were too small and did not follow children up for a long enough period to gauge potential problems, he said in an article published in the respected medical journal Adverse Drug Reactions. But the Department of Health and Medicines Control Agency said it 'totally rejected' any suggestion that MMR vaccines were licensed prematurely. Dr Wakefield's report said there was also evidence more than 20 years ago that combining three live viruses in one jab could be potentially dangerous. And there were indications that the triple jab was linked to autism and inflammatory bowel disease, despite government reassurances over the vaccine, the study concluded. Until safety concerns are allayed, parents should be offered the choice of either the combined jab or single vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella, Dr Wakefield said. He sparked controversy when he first raised concerns about the jab three years ago, claiming potential links with autism and the bowel condition Crohn's disease. The subsequent scare has led to thousands of parents refusing to have their children immunised and vaccination levels have fallen from 92 per cent to 75 per cent in some parts of the country. Immunisation levels must remain at least 92 per cent to protect the whole population. Experts have warned that a potentially fatal measles epidemic could occur if immunisation levels do not increase. Around 500 parents in the UK are talking legal action, claiming their children have developed autism Crohn's disease after having the jab, which is given in two doses at around 15 months and then at the age of three. But while parents have clamoured for access to single vaccines for the three diseases, the Government has insisted they will not be made available. In recent weeks ministers has embarked on a campaign to reassure parents that the vaccine is safe, citing a massive Finnish study that ruled out any link between autism and bowel disease. For his latest study, Dr Wakefield examined safety trials for MMR before it was licensed in the United States in 1975 and in the UK in 1988. Small studies on a few hundred children in the US showed that significant numbers of youngsters developed stomach bugs throughout the trial. But despite this, the follow-up period for subsequent trials was reduced from four weeks to just 21 days, meaning researchers did not have any data on long-term effects of the jab. And a decision to go ahead with the three-in-one vaccine was made even though a 1969 study had shown that if live viruses were combined in one vaccine they could have an affect on one another and therefore on the body's immune response. Dr Wakefield said: 'Two dose MMR vaccine schedules appear to be unsatisfactorily tested for safety. For MMR, autism and inflammatory bowel disease, a significant index of suspicion exists without adequate evidence of safety.' The British Medical Association dismissed the study and insisted the vaccine was safe. Dr Simon Fradd, deputy chairman of the BMA's GPs' committee said: 'There is no new evidence in this paper other than a review of previously published papers
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8/17/13

MMR vaccine side-effects 'not fully tested' | Mail Online

relating to the triple vaccine. MMR is a safe and effective vaccine and we strongly recommend that children are protected with it.'

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