Archive for June, 2009

Children First in Line for New Vaccine

Officials have announced that children may be the first to receive a new H1N1 flu vaccine due this fall. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius suggested the government may use schools as “shot clinics” to ensure all children are protected against the disease. British health experts are considering similar plans.

The Value of Vaccines Touted

Both TIME magazine and MSN Health recognized the important role vaccines play in our health.

In its special health report edition, TIME offered tips on staying healthy during every stage of life. Each stage included vaccines. MSN Health choose to pick the eight most important vaccines and included measles, rotavirus, pertussis, polio and smallpox.

Newsweek Story Continues Shelf Life

Newsweek’s cover story on Oprah Winfrey has continued to attract attention this week. High profile blogs such as Daily Kos continue to berate Oprah’s coverage of health issues while newspapers including the Toronto Star have run opinion pieces on the issue.

Dr. Deepak Chopra defended Oprah on his Huffington Post blog. He opines, “Patients aren’t supposed to know more than their physicians. The fact that they often do, at least insofar as alternative treatment goes, is both a sign of hope and cause for distress.” Respectful Insolence blogger Orac has shot back, calling Chopra’s alternative treatments, “not science-based. It’s mystical, prescientific superstition.”

Newsweek has also published a mixed bag of letters responding to the article.

NVAC Feasibility Study Stirs Interest

Last week, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee recommended an independent third party conduct a feasibility study on whether a vaccinated versus unvaccinated children study could be conducted. This decision has sparked some interest among activists online.

Both David Kirby and Dr. Bob Sears have responded to the announcement. While Kirby viewed the announcement “as a healthy sign of a responsive — and responsible - government,” Dr. Sears was less inclined to believe it was a step in the right direction. “Finally, after years of public pressure, the government has agreed to do the research,” he wrote. “Maybe.”

Coverage of Pertussis Exemption Study Continues

A Pediatrics piece examining the rate of whooping cough in children who are not immunized against the disease has continued to garner coverage this week. The New York Times wrote a brief summary for their “Vital Signs” segment while medical ethicist Dr. Janet D. Stemwedel questions whether “vaccine refuseniks are free-riders.”

NEJM Features Vaccine Court

This week, the New England Journal of Medicine ran two pieces on the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Dr. Ross D. Silverman’s article looks at the importance of childhood immunizations and the various mechanisms that have been created in order to ensure immunization rates remain high. Ms. Alexandra M. Stewart takes a deeper dive on the recent Omnibus Autism Proceedings decision, summarizing the verdicts and next steps for Petitioners.

Dr. Harvey Karp on Huffington Post

The Huffington Post, home to regular bloggers such as David Kirby and Dr. Jay Gordon, has posted an excellent piece by pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp. The article is the first of three, all of which examine the arguments of vaccine refusers and the reasons why their fears are unfounded. We will continue to follow this series as it is published.

Rotavirus Vaccine Recommended by WHO

The World Health Organization has officially recommended that every child in the world receive the rotavirus vaccine. A universal vaccination program could save the lives of half a million children around the world. The announcement means that donations can now be used to purchase and administer the vaccine.

Newsweek Feeds Debate on Oprah’s Questionable Health Advice

Newsweek’s cover this week features a picture of Oprah Winfrey with the headline “Crazy Talk: Oprah, Wacky Cures & You.” The article examines several guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show including Jenny McCarthy and Suzanne Somers, questioning the advice offered as cures to the show’s 40 million weekly viewers.

The reporters note that “Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can’t seem to tell the difference [between useful information and 'nonsense']…Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous.”

This piece has prompted critiques from some of the most high profile outlets. CNN’s Showbiz Tonight, CBS News’ The Early Show and even The Colbert Report on Comedy Central have added their voices to the debate.

Philadelphia Magazine Defines the Real Heroes in Vaccine-Autism Debate

A feature article on Dr. Paul Offit has appeared in Philadelphia Magazine. The story examines Dr. Offit’s fight to ensure children are vaccinated despite anti-vaccine critics.

Minnesota Paper Details the Dangers of Not Vaccinating

City Pages, a paper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, chronicles the devastating ordeal Brendalee Flint endured as she watched her daughter, Julieanna, suffer from Hib. Flint recounts signing permission for emergency brain surgery for her daughter, asking a priest to read Julieanna’s last rites, and finally watching her daughter slowly begin to recover from the disease. Unknown to her parents, Julieanna had an immune disorder which prevented her Hib vaccine from working. While Julieanna has lost all of the skills she once learned, from basic words to chewing her food, Flint continues to hope for a full recovery.

The reporter also investigates why exemption rates have risen in Minnesota and the history of the disproven theory that vaccines cause autism.

NVAC and ACCV Updates

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) met this Tuesday and Wednesday in part to vote for and approve the ISO Draft Research Agenda. The most notable items from the agenda include a feasibility review for the “vaccinated vs. unvaccinated” study to be conducted by the IOM and a recommendation to study children with mitochondrial disease and other metabolic disorders.

The NVPO is reviewing the public comments on the National Vaccine Plan; some have already been incorporated into the draft. Additionally, the IOM has been holding workshops with national stakeholders to review the draft update of the plan and intends to issue a report with conclusions and recommendations by November 2009.

The Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV) also met this week. Mark Rogers of the Department of Justice noted that there has been an uptick in autism case dismissals since the Theory 1 OAP decisions were announced, most of which were voluntary.

The appeals for the Omnibus Theory 1 decisions have been scheduled as follows: Hazelhurst on June 11; Cedillo on July 7; and Snyder on July 29. The post hearing briefs for Theory 2 have been filed and submitted to the Special Masters.