ADD FOR ROTA TEQ VACCINE

[Guest guest]

Parent magazine has an add illustrated by a "full page" photo of a mom snuggling her sleeping baby to her chest. The "touching photo" is captioned "Your mother helped protect you against diseases like diptheria and polio." The next "full page" printed text is headlined with "Now you can do more for your baby....with Rotateq."

The written content of the add follows. I have italicized and underlined the sentences I believe raise concerns over both the efficiacy and safety of this particular vaccine.

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"What is Rota Teq? Rota Teq is a vaccine to help prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants......It is not a shot....it is 3 oral doses. Your healthcare professional can give the first dose of Rota Teq to your baby as early as 6 weeks of age. The third dose should be given before 32 weeks of age"

"What is rotavirus? It's a leading cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children. Rotavirus is highly contagious. It can cause high fever, multiple epidsodes of vomiting and diarrhea,and quickly lead to dehydration. Rotavirus can be mild, moderate, or severe---it can be difficult to predict which infected children will have severe cases. A severe case could send your child to the emergency room, or your child may be hospitalized."

Can Rota Teq help prevent it? Yes, it can. Rota Teq was studied in one of the largest vaccine clinical trials in history. Rota Teq was shown to help protect infants against the most common types of rotavirus. In addition, infants who were vaccinated with Rota Teq were significantly less likely to visit an emergency room or be hospitalized due to rotavirus. Rota Teq does not protect against diarrhea and vomiting that are caused by something other than rotavirus. Rota Teq may not fully protect all children who get the vaccine.

What important safety information should I know? The most common side effects reported were diarrhea, vomiting, fever, runny nose, sore throat, wheezing or coughing, and ear infection. Ask your healthcare professional for a more complete list of side effects. As always, if your child develops abnormal symptom, such as, sudden abdominal pain, vomiting, blood in the stools, or changes in bowel movement, you should call your healthcare professional immediately. Rota Teq should not be given to infants who are allergic to any part of the vaccine.

Who should receive the vaccine? Your child should not get the vaccine if: He or she had an allergic reaction after getting a dose of this vaccine.

He or she is allergic to any of the ingredients of the vaccine. A list of the ingredients can be found at the end of this leaflet.

What are the possible side effects of Rota Teq? The most common side effects reported after taking Rota Teq were diarrhea, vomiting, fever, runny nose and sore throat, wheezing or coughing, and ear infection. These are NOT all the side effects of Rota Teq. You can ask your doctor or healthcare provider for a more complete list.

Can Rota Teq be given with other vaccines? Your child can get Rota Teq at the same time as other childhood vaccines.

What are the ingredients of Rota Teq? Active ingredient: 5 live rotavirus strains (G1, G2, G3, G4, and P1). Inactive ingredients: sucrose, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate monobasic monhydrate, sodium hydroxide, polysorbate 80 and also fetal bovine serum.

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In my humble opinion, any pediatrician who takes the time to read this add and then decides to give Rota Teq to a child assumes responsibility for any "adverse reaction" that child may suffer. In addition, any pediatrician who gives this vaccine to his patient without first adhereing to the manufacturer's warning to determine if the child is allergic to the "ingredients" listed (fetal bovine serum?) should have his head examined.