Vaccine Safety

We are now near the end of the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been a year since the first International System Safety Society (ISSS) Conference coronavirus presentation. This past year has seen the development and distribution of several vaccines, as predicted in the previous publication about the pandemic. These new weapons against disease will save millions of lives all over the globe in the next few years — and they were developed faster than any vaccine in medical history. Yet these same vaccines have been the victim of numerous allegations from the start. In fact, their strongest virtue — the speed with which they were developed and distributed — is seen by their critics as a fault, possibly resulting in an unsafe or insufficiently tested product. Is there any truth to these claims? How do these vaccines work? And how are they made? Vaccine Safety. In order to establish an orderly, technically accurate, objective, and comprehensive record of the events of these times that is accessible to the general public and of some use to posterity, this second publication has been prepared. It is also hoped that this report will mitigate some of the concerns that people have about vaccine safety

Vaccine safety publications

CDC\u2019s Immunization Safety Office monitors the safety of licensed and authorized vaccines and conducts high-quality vaccine safety research. This research is peer-reviewed and published in reputable scientific outlets.The vaccine safety articles and studies listed on this page include a full citation, a short summary, and a link to the free PMC article, when available.index.html#anchor_1639772389647CDC Publications by Vaccine Safety System -- Publications About Specific Vaccine Safety Topics -- COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Articles and Studies by Topic -- CDC Vaccine Safety Publications by Year.20221132

CDC monitors health reports submitted after COVID-19 vaccination to ensure continued safety

COVID-19 vaccines are part of the most intensive vaccine safety monitoring effort in U.S. history.Vaccine safety monitoring systems are used to check for potential vaccine safety problems (sometimes called adverse events) that may not have been seen during clinical trials. CDC uses new and established systems to actively monitor for possible adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccination. CDC and vaccine safety experts quickly assess unexpected adverse events to help guide U.S. vaccine recommendations.Learn more about CDC\u2019s vaccine safety monitoring systems www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety.htmlCS 323652-APublication date from document properties.vaccine-safety-monitoring.pdf20211008

Vaccine safety updates

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Can Real Social Epistemic Networks Deliver the Wisdom of Crowds?

In this paper, we explain and showcase the promising methodology of testimonial network analysis and visualization for experimental epistemology, arguing that it can be used to gain insights and answer philosophical questions in social epistemology. Our use case is the epistemic community that discusses vaccine safety primarily in English on Twitter. In two studies, we show, using both statistical analysis and exploratory data visualization, that there is almost no neutral or ambivalent discussion of vaccine safety on Twitter. Roughly half the accounts engaging with this topic are pro-vaccine, while the other half are con-vaccine. We also show that these two camps rarely engage with one another, and that the con-vaccine camp has greater epistemic reach and receptivity than the pro-vaccine camp. In light of these findings, we question whether testimonial networks as they are currently constituted on popular fora such as Twitter are living up to their promise of delivering the wisdom of crowds. We conclude by pointing to directions for further research in digital social epistemology

Vaccine Myths: Setting the Record Straight

Despite their standing as one of the most remarkable public health achievements, vaccines have been surrounded by dangerous myths since the development of the smallpox vaccine in the 18th century. In recent decades, with the publication of a fraudulent article linking vaccines to autism, the involvement of celebrities in the debate, and the rise of the internet and social media as sources for information for patients, these myths have become more widespread. This paper reviews four common vaccine myths: vaccines cause autism, vaccines are not safe, too many vaccines are given too soon, and the influenza vaccine is not necessary. For each of these myths, we review the origin and spread of misinformation. The authors then present the scientific evidence against each myth. Extensive research has found no link between vaccines, and particularly the MMR vaccine or the preservative thimerosal, and autism. The U.S. and world health agencies have effective mechanisms in place to review and monitor vaccine safety. These systems have worked to detect and evaluate even rare vaccine adverse events. The recommended vaccine schedule is safe for infants’ immune systems. The flu vaccine is an essential tool in the fight against the seasonal influenza deaths. A consequence of these myths is that parents are choosing to delay or refuse recommended vaccines for themselves and their children. This has resulted in outbreaks of measles, pertussis, H. influenza type b, varicella, and pneumococcal disease in the United States. Unvaccinated and undervaccinated children risk contracting the disease themselves, and pose a risk to their community as herd immunity decreases. It is important to explore and refute the myths leading to decreased vaccination rates, so health care providers and parents can make educated decisions to protect children and ensure public health

The Effectiveness of California Assembly Bill 2109: Personal Belief Exemptions for Kindergarten Immunizations

The numbers of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) in the United States has declined with the development, administration, and effectiveness of vaccines during the 1970s and 1980s. As the eminent threat of VPDs to the public began to wane, parents started questioning the safety and necessity of vaccines. When parents were given the option of selecting personal belief exemption (PBE) waivers for state mandated immunizations for their incoming kindergarten children, an increase in PBEs and the number of VPD outbreaks began to occur. To counter the growing trend of PBEs, and to prevent outbreaks of VPDs in school settings and communities, California Assembly Bill2109 (AB 2109, 2012) was created to help educate parents about vaccine safety and VPDs. As of January 2014, California Assembly Bill2109 (AB 2109, 2012) mandated that parents seeking PBEs for state mandated immunizations for students entering kindergarten were required to receive education about vaccine safety and risks along with education regarding VPDs by a health care professional (AB 2109, 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of AB 21 09 by examining data from the top ten most populous counties in California. Data was collected for the 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2015- 2016 school years to determine if AB 2109 directly impacted the number of PBEs for incoming kindergartners. This project determined that AB 2109 was significant in decreasing the number 3 of PBEs from the 2013-2014,2014-2015, and 2015-2016 school years by -23.4% in the ten most populous counties in California. Further research beyond this project is necessary to evaluate the continued impact of AB 2109 on PBEs and in decreasing the number of VPD outbreaks throughout California

Vaccination Hesitation: Investigation Why Parents Decline Pediatric Influenza Vaccines in Juneau, Alaska

The influenza virus is responsible for hundreds of childhood deaths and costs the health care system millions of dollars each year (Hassan, Lewis, Davis, Gebremariam, and Dombkowski, 2009). The influenza vaccine is the most effective intervention for prevention of pediatric influenza, yet many parents decline this vaccine for their children. Studies completed in various geographic locations cite different factors influencing parents who decline pediatric vaccinations. Alaska has the second lowest rate of influenza vaccination in the country (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2012). The purpose of this project was to understand the factors that influence parental decision to refuse influenza vaccination in Juneau, Alaska. A modified version of the Childhood Influenza Immunization Questionnaire, an instrument based on the Health Belief Model, was utilized to collect data from a convenience sample of parents at a private pediatric practice in Juneau, AK. Statistical analysis revealed the only significant influencing factor on parents’ decisions on whether to vaccinate against influenza was their perception of vaccine risk (p < .001). Information obtained from this study will be used to educate local providers in the community with the goal of enabling said providers to overcome resistance to vaccination hesitancy based on parent perceptions