(Vaccine Needle length) The right to laugh as a fundamental one

[Guest guest]

According to Diggle et al (BMJ, 16 Sept 2006, 571-4), use of long needles

could significantly reduce vaccine reactogenicity. In their study, the

percentage of infants experiencing local reactions after intramuscular

injection went up to 61% for a combined vaccine and 42% for a meningococcal

vaccine; 2% of the included subjects were withdrawn due to severe local or

general reactions. Fairly recently, however, in a plea for " the importance

of injecting vaccines into muscle " , Zuckerman5 contended that after

intramuscular injection, only. 0.4% of the patients had local adverse

effect.

Even taking into account potential disparities in the criteria used for

reporting or coding, it is extremely difficult to reconcile such conflicting

results. And every attempt to do so notwithstanding, an even more crucial

question concerns the clinical or epidemiological relevance of estimates

which can display such phenomenal fluctuations. For not speaking about

prescribers information, and even less: about the " informed " consent of

parents who gather information from doctors who received such informative

data!

Although it was recently pointed out4 5, most of health professionals remain

unaware of this worrying lack of reliability of safety data about medicines

(from the clinical trials as well as from post-marketing surveillance). Some

may think that the above comparison between two estimations of local

reactions is a caricature, but this is not the case: while monitoring of

iatrogenic hazards is certainly poorer with vaccines than with other

drugs1-3 5, examples of irresponsible management of drug safety by

manufacturers as well as governmental agencies could easily be extended to a

number of non-vaccine products.

References

1. Anon. WHO urges better monitoring of vaccine ADRs. Scrip

2006; 13.

2. Bonhoeffer J, Zumbrunn B, Heininger U. Reporting of vaccine

safety data in publications: systematic review. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf

2005; 14:101-6.

3. Girard M. Vaccination and auto-immunity: reassessing

evidence. Medical Veritas 2005; 2:549-54.

4. Ioannidis JP, Lau J. Completeness of safety reporting in

randomized trials: an evaluation of 7 medical areas. JAMA 2001; 285:437-43.

5. Zuckerman JN. The importance of injecting vaccines into

muscle. Different patients need different needle sizes. BMJ 2000;

321:1237-8.

See:

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/333/7568/571#143221

Kindest regards to all of you.

M

--------------------------------------------------------

Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

$$ Donations to help in the work - accepted by Paypal account

earthmysteriestours@... voicemail US 530-740-0561

(go to http://www.paypal.com) or by mail

Vaccines - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm

Vaccine Dangers On-Line course - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccineclass.htm

Reality of the Diseases & Treatment -

http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccineclass.htm

Homeopathy On-Line course - http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/homeo.htm