NVIC Reply to [this!!] "Flawed" CDC Study (at bottom of page)

Seizures following vaccines are now a "normal" side effect and are mostly harmless. Are any vaccine free kids out there experiencing seizures? And was the duration of this "study" long enough to determine whether these children had longterm consequences? Was there even a control group of unvaccinated children? Actually, this has always been a problem. They have NEVER done a control group of 100% vaccine free kids.... And this is SCIENCE! Ingri

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Childhood vaccines linked to harmless seizures

By DANIEL Q. HANEY, Associated Press

BOSTON (August 29, 2001 5:18 p.m. EDT) - Two widely used childhood vaccines were found to sporadically trigger seizures but do not appear to cause any long-term disabilities, such as epilepsy or retardation, according to the biggest study of the subject.

The study looked at children who had received the DTP vaccine to prevent diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis and the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Both vaccines can cause fever, and fever in turn can lead to seizures.

The possibility of seizures is one of a variety of concerns that prompt some parents to oppose routine vaccinations, even though health experts argue that the benefit of preventing common childhood illnesses far outweighs any possible hazards.

Although doctors have long known that some childhood vaccines can trigger seizures, the latest study, based on 679,942 youngsters, was intended to see how often they occur as well as look for any lingering complications.

"Overall, it's very reassuring," said Dr. Robert T. Chen, director of vaccine safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sponsored the study. [Comment: Do you feel safer now that CDC sponsored this study?]

The study found the risk of a so-called febrile seizure was six times higher than usual on the day of getting the DTP vaccine, and it was three times higher than usual eight to 14 days after getting the MMR vaccine. This translates into six to nine additional seizures for every 100,000 children getting the DTP shot and 25 to 34 for those getting MMR.

During follow-up, those who had the febrile seizures after vaccination were no more likely than usual to have additional seizures or mental or developmental problems.

Generally, doctors say seizures caused by fevers are less worrisome than those that strike without a fever. Several other studies have shown that youngsters who have had febrile seizures grow up to have normal intelligence and behavior. However, Chen said some have wondered whether such seizures are more ominous when triggered by vaccines.

"Any risk is not nice for parents to hear about, including me, who is the father of a 2-year-old, but it's a very small risk in light of what they prevent," said Dr. William E. Barlow of the Group Health Cooperative, a Seattle health maintenance organization. Barlow was co-director of the study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

The study began in 1991 and followed children at four West Coast HMOs for seven years. Since then, the DTP vaccine has been replaced by one that is only half as likely to cause fever.

"These data demonstrate very clearly there is no increased risk of long-term effects from the febrile seizures that some children have following vaccination. Parents should be reassured," said Dr. Neal Halsey, head of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University.

In April, an Institute of Medicine committee issued a report saying there is no evidence that MMR causes autism, as some have speculated.

NVIC Reply to "Flawed" CDC Study

E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER
Vienna, Virginia http://www.909shot.com

"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."
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Contact: Barbara Loe Fisher
               703-938-0342

for immediate release
 August 30, 2001

NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER CALLS FOR FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF CDC VACCINE STUDY DATA

Characterizing the CDC study on DPT and MMR vaccine-induced brain seizures published in today's New England Journal of Medicine as "methodologically flawed" and the conclusions "dangerous and irresponsible," the National Vaccine Information Center is calling for the CDC to immediately release the study data for independent scientific and public review.

The study found "significantly elevated risks of febrile seizures after receipt of DPT vaccine or MMR vaccine" within 24 hours to 14 days after vaccination. The conclusion of the authors, however, was that "these risks do not appear to be associated with any long term adverse consequences" even though at least 25 children who had seizures in the study were later diagnosed with learning or developmental disabilities, including ADHD, speech and language disorders.

NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher said, "The bottom line is that children who get DPT and MMR vaccines are more likely to suffer brain seizures. And if these children are re-vaccinated, they can end up brain damaged or dead. For CDC officials to try to suggest that brain seizures after vaccination or for any other reason do not cause permanent brain damage contradicts the evidence in more than 100 years of medical literature; the landmark prospective, case-controlled National Childhood Encephalopathy Study conducted in Britain; the historic 1991 and 1994 reports by the Institute of Medicine on vaccine adverse events; the 1998 study by public health officials confirming that measles and MMR vaccine is associated with permanent neurological damage, including seizures; and the nearly 15 years of awards made to vaccine injured children under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986," said Barbara Loe Fisher, NVIC co-founder and president.

The National Vaccine Information Center points out that the study conclusions are misleading because they are based on comparing the neurodevelopmental health of children who had febrile seizures after vaccination with those who had febrile seizures for other reasons rather than looking at the neurodevelopmental health of children without a history of seizures or vaccination. NVIC is questioning the use of the closed CDC-operated Vaccine Safety Datalink database as a valid means of drawing scientific conclusions about vaccine risks.

"The Vaccine Safety Datalink project is a closed database operated by the CDC in collaboration with HMO's. CDC officials have steadfastly refused to make the raw data from the database available to independent researchers or the public for independent analysis. The test of good science is reproducibility and validation. The extraordinary claims of this study cannot be reproduced and, therefore, cannot be trusted," said Fisher.

The National Vaccine Information Center is a non-profit educational organization founded by parents of vaccine injured children in 1982.
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Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA
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     "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil  is that good men (&
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