Guest guest Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Hi, I am brand new to this listserv and on my quest to educate before vaccinating. My question is about pneumoniacoccal vaccine. What does the vaccination supposedly guard against? How dangerous is this sickness? How can a child catch it? My daughter is 16 months-old and not vaccinated against it although I have read in books that this one is one I might consider going for (vaccination, that is) because of its particular danger. Any info/insight would be appreciated. Thanks, Philadelphia, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 15, 2004 Report Share Posted January 15, 2004 Here is the text from my book The Vaccine Guide about this vaccine. Randall Neustaedter OMD Pneumococcal Vaccine Streptococcus pneumonia (Pneumococcus) is a bacterium associated with many cases of meningitis, bacteremia (systemic infection in the bloodstream), pneumonia, and ear infections. At least 10 to 25 percent of all pneumonias culture S pneumonia ( et al., 1988) and approximately one-quarter of all ear infections in children are associated with S pneumonia growth (Bluestone and Klein, 1988). It is estimated that the Pneumococcus causes approximately 17,000 cases of invasive disease each year among children under the age of five years (Poland, 2001). The overall case fatality rate for bacteremia is 15-20 percent. Up to 40 percent of the 6,000 children with pneumococcal meningitis suffer death or disability each year (Baraff et al., 1993). The rate of invasive disease is highest among children under two and adults over 65 years of age. Black adults have a threefold to fivefold higher overall incidence of pneumococcal bacteremia than whites, and the risk rises at an earlier age (CDC, 1997). Cigarette smoking is the single most important risk factor for the development of invasive disease (Nuorti et al., 2000). At least 90 serotypes of pneumococcal bacterium are known, and up to one third of all US types demonstrate moderate to high-level resistance to antibiotics (Breiman et al., 1994). Several pneumococcal vaccines exist, incorporating various combinations of serotypes. In 1977, a pneumococcal vaccine was licensed that contained 14 types of S pneumonia. This was replaced by a vaccine of 23 types in 1980. These early polysaccharide vaccines met with limited success. A conjugate vaccine that contains the seven serotypes responsible for 80 percent of invasive disease in children was licensed in 2000 for use in infants and children, and is now recommended for use in all infants (CDC, 2000b). Those recommended for vaccination by the CDC include people over 65 years old and people with chronic illness (such as diabetes, heart disease, emphysema, alcoholism, HIV, chronic liver disease, and immune deficiency diseases). All children under two years of age and children aged two through five years old with an increased risk of pneumococcal infection are also advised to receive a series of pneumococcal vaccine (CDC, 2000b). Vaccine Efficacy The pneumococcal vaccine is notoriously ineffective. Many studies have demonstrated a lack of effectiveness in adults (Austrian, 1981; Simberkoff et al., 1986), including studies that failed to demonstrate efficacy in preventing pneumonia in the targeted elderly population (Forrester et al., 1987, Ortqvisdt et al., 1998). Other studies show an effectiveness ranging from 40 to 100 percent. A review of randomized trials revealed that the vaccine has a modest effect in preventing pneumonia among low-risk subjects, and no effect in high-risk subjects (Fine et al., 1994). A large study of conjugate pneumococcal vaccine involving 38,000 children was conducted at a California HMO. The vaccine, which consists of only seven serotypes, was approximately 95 percent effective in preventing invasive disease, and 33 percent effective in preventing pneumonia (Rennels et al., 1998). However, the vaccine reduced the incidence of ear infections by only six percent. Another study of 1,700 children showed that ear infections caused by one of the pneumococcal serotypes present in the vaccine were reduced by 57 percent, but the vaccine group had 33 percent more ear infections caused by nonvaccine serotypes compared to the control group (Kilpi, 2000). Previous studies with the polysaccharide vaccine also showed fewer episodes of ear infections associated with the types of S pneumonia present in the vaccine, but children in the vaccine and control groups had the same total number of ear infections (Karma et al., 1980; Makela et al., 1980, 1981; Sloyer et al., 1981; Teele et al., 1981). The use of this pneumococcal vaccine has merely caused a shift in the bacterial types associated with childhood ear infections, as well as a shift in bacterial serotypes that colonize the nose. Researchers have concluded that " since non-vaccine serotypes are already present in the community as the etiology of acute purulent OM [ear infection], it is predictable that these non-vaccine serotypes will become more common especially in children less than two years of age " (Pelton, 2000). Vaccine Reactions Early studies of the polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine reported a higher than expected frequency and severity of both systemic and local adverse reactions in those receiving a second dose (Borgono et al., 1978; Lawrence et al., 1983). One study noted that adverse reactions were more prevalent in those recipients with higher prevaccination antibody levels (Sankilampi et al., 1997). During the HMO trial of the children's conjugate vaccine, the vaccinated group had twice as many seizures within three days of the vaccine compared to the control group. The vaccinated group also had significantly more asthma and gastritis than the control group (Black, 2000). Pneumococcal Vaccine Facts · Streptococcus pneumonia is associated with a large percentage of ear infections, meningitis, pneumonia, and bacteremia in children, and invasive disease in elderly adults. · The vaccine is relatively ineffective in adults (it does not prevent pneumonia), but is effective in preventing pneumonia and other invasive disease in children. · The vaccine does not prevent ear infections. A Personal Strategy Like all newly licensed vaccines, the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine for children will only reveal its safety record and adverse reactions once large numbers of children become part of the vaccination campaign. In the meantime, parents cannot be well informed about the risks associated with the vaccine. The widespread use of vaccine may cause shifts in disease pathogens to serotypes not contained in the currently licensed vaccine, thus leaving the overall incidence of problems caused by the bacterial group relatively unchanged. Elderly patients are not served well by this vaccine because of its ineffectiveness in that age group. Randall Neustaedter OMD, LAc Classical Medicine Center 1779 Woodside Rd., Suite 201C Redwood City, CA 94061 650 299-9170 Author of The Vaccine Guide, North Atlantic Books, 2002 Subscribe to my free email newsletter at www.cure-guide.com pnemoniacoccal(sp?) > Hi, > I am brand new to this listserv and on my quest to educate before vaccinating. My question is about pneumoniacoccal vaccine. What does the vaccination supposedly guard against? How dangerous is this sickness? How can a child catch it? My daughter is 16 months-old and not vaccinated against it although I have read in books that this one is one I might consider going for (vaccination, that is) because of its particular danger. Any info/insight would be appreciated. > Thanks, > > Philadelphia, PA > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 At 11:53 PM 01/15/2004 -0500, you wrote: >Hi, >I am brand new to this listserv and on my quest to educate before vaccinating. My question is about pneumoniacoccal vaccine. What does the vaccination supposedly guard against? How dangerous is this sickness? How can a child catch it? My daughter is 16 months-old and not vaccinated against it although I have read in books that this one is one I might consider going for (vaccination, that is) because of its particular danger. Any info/insight would be appreciated. >Thanks, > >Philadelphia, PA > Are you talking about Prevnar? REad up on my webpages and s http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/prevnar.htm and http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html All vaccines are dangerous and it is not true that vaccines work Sheri -------------------------------------------------------- Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Classical Homeopath Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK $$ Donations to help in the work - accepted by Paypal account vaccineinfo@... voicemail US 530-740-0561 (go to http://www.paypal.com) or by mail Vaccines - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm Homeopathy On-Line course - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/homeo.htm ANY INFO OBTAINED HERE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION TO VACCINATE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE. ****** " Just look at us. Everything is backwards; everything is upside down. Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information and religions destroy spirituality " .... Ellner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 Dr Neustaedter's article, and Sheri's URL's are great for the information you need on Prevnar. I have put a lot of time into researching this particular vaccine, because it has affected me personally. That vaccine may have saved my son's life. It was the only vaccine he received that day, so I know without a doubt it was Prevnar. From the injection site, all the way up his back into his shoulders, and around the sides of his stomach was a bright red rash. Couldn't feel it, it was underneath his skin. He was very fussy, and I couldn't put him down. Do any of you think this was a local reaction? That is what the ped marked in his chart. The reason I say it saved his life is because the next vaccine could have killed him. I'll try to locate an article I just read that stated the Prevnar vaccine has the most adverse events reported, and that a lot were errors in the way the vaccine is given. > Hi, > I am brand new to this listserv and on my quest to educate before vaccinating. My question is about pneumoniacoccal vaccine. What does the vaccination supposedly guard against? How dangerous is this sickness? How can a child catch it? My daughter is 16 months-old and not vaccinated against it although I have read in books that this one is one I might consider going for (vaccination, that is) because of its particular danger. Any info/insight would be appreciated. > Thanks, > > Philadelphia, PA > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2004 Report Share Posted January 16, 2004 >The reason I say it saved his life is because the next vaccine could have killed him.< I assume you mean that because of the reaction you didn't allow him to have any more vaccines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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