FW: high titer EZ measles vaccine studies

[Guest guest]

---------- From: Ishgooda <ishgooda@...> Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001

00:45:16 -0500 " karaka.j@... " <janclarke@...> Subject:

Re: FW: " First, Do No Harm "

WorthC8P@... wrote:

My understanding was that maternal antibodies provide some degree of

protection while the infant's own immune system matures. Even *before* the

high titer EZ measles vaccine studies began (around 1980, in Mexican

infants, in both aerosol and injected formulations), some physicians

published sound arguments that vaccinating too early not only wouldn't work,

it appeared to compromise the child's response to revaccination later.

During lengthy interviews with one of the EZ investigators, my colleague and

I asked whether there had been any discussion of how overwhelming maternal

antibodies would magically result in instant maturation of an infant's

immune system. Answer: No.

The high titer vaccine did overwhelm maternal antibodies -- and also left

the infants, some as young as 4 months old, with lasting immunosuppression.

Increased mortality was documented in Haiti, Senegal and Guinea Bissau --

and must surely have occurred elsewhere as well.

The *sponsors* of biomedical research are ultimately responsible for its

outcome. As sponsor of most of the EZ trials, the U.S. taxpayer is thus

responsible for that near- disaster. Are we going to do this *again*?

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