Abstract from Infectious Diseases in Children

Increases in the number of measles cases reported in 2008 emphasize the need to maintain high overall vaccination coverage rates among children to continue to limit the spread  of the disease according to a report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.   “The measles outbreaks in Illinois and Washington demonstrate that measles remain a risk for unvaccinated people and those who come in contact with them” the CDC officials noted in the report.  “Each school year, parents should ensure that their children’s vaccinations are current, regardless of whether the children are returning to school, attending daycare or being schooled at home”.  Low vaccination rates among children whose parents are religiously or philosophically opposed to vaccination  are responsible for the increase in measles cases that occurred between January and July 2008, the CDC officials wrote.  This represents a 108% increase in cases compared with average cases reported between 2000-2007.  There were 15 states with Illinois, Washington and New York among the states with the largest outbreaks.  Unvaccinated children accounted for most of the cases (91%).

 New Book on Vaccine Safety

Today, more than ever before, parents are concerned about the safety of vaccines.  Fear of vaccines has been fueled by information provided on television programs, newspapers and magazine articles, and on the Internet.  Much of this information is based on opinions that are unsupported by scientific evidence.  As a result, some parents are choosing to withhold, separate, or space out vaccines.  The consequences of delaying vaccines have been predictiable; recent outbreaks of diseases such as pertussis (Whooping Cough) and measles have centered on communities where parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children.  Doctors, scientists, and public health officials, alarmed by the trend have tried to counter the flood of misinformation, but their voices have often been drowned out be the journalistic drumbeat of “balance” despite the fact that only one side is supported by scientific evidence. 

With the book, Do Vaccines Cause That? A Guide for Evaluating Vaccine Safety Concerns,  Martin Myers and Diego Pineda step into the fray.  The authors, Martin G. Myers, MD and Diego Pineda, MS, are experts in immunization issues; they work together at the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii) and have co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed articles on vaccines. Dr. Myers is the former director of the National Vaccine Program Office and is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

You yourself want to do what is best for your child, but may be worried about media reports that seem to sensationalize the vaccine issue and make it seem like there is much more controversy about vaccine safety than there really is.  Have you seen something on the news lately about vaccines? Concerns about autism, mercury, concerns about overwhelming the immune system, etc, are just some of the concerns we have heard about.

Do Vaccines Cause That?! will help you cut through all of the vaccine misinformation you may catch on TV, or read in books or on the Internet.  Myers and Pineda do a great job of myth busting.  It also basically explains the whole vaccine system, from VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink, to how vaccine safety studies are done.

Do vaccines cause autism, asthma, or SIDS, or do they overwhelm a baby’s immune system? Not only does Do Vaccines Cause That?! give a clear answer to these questions, it backs them up with studies that should reassure you that vaccines are indeed safe.  “Every parent who is concerned about vaccines and seeks accurate information about vaccine safety should read this book” – Paul A. Offit, MD at the Division of Infectious Diseases, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.