Tag: package inserts

About Those Anti-Vaccine Signs Some Folks Are Making

Sadly, even as some of us are working to fight measles outbreaks, others are actually protesting against getting kids vaccinated and protected. And they have gotten someone to finance the making of hundreds of anti-vaccine signs.

Signs that list the typical anti-vaccine talking points that we have been refuted a thousand times…

About Those Anti-Vaccine Signs Some Folks Are Making

Not surprisingly, there is nothing new about these signs.

It will be nearly impossible to eradicate measles with all of these folks scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids!
It will be nearly impossible to eradicate measles with all of these folks scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids!

Remember, every anti-vaccine argument is essentially a PRATT, a point refuted a thousand times.

72 vaccines??? Kids routinely get 14 different vaccines to protect them against 16 different vaccine-preventable diseases
72 vaccines??? Kids routinely get 14 different vaccines to protect them against 16 different vaccine-preventable diseases.

Whether it is in a book, on Facebook or Twitter, or on a sign, don’t let this type of anti-vaccine misinformation keep you from vaccinating and protecting your kids.

Vaccines are safe, with few risks, and are obviously necessary.

“One is morally free to use the vaccine regardless of its historical association with abortion. The reason is that the risk to public health, if one chooses not to vaccinate, outweighs the legitimate concern about the origins of the vaccine. This is especially important for parents, who have a moral obligation to protect the life and health of their children and those around them.”

National Catholic Bioethics Center FAQ on the Use of Vaccines

“A moral obligation” to vaccinate your kids…

Maybe we should put that on a sign!

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It’s Just More Anti-Vaccine Misinformation

Vocal vaccine deniers don’t like to get called out for pushing anti-vaccine misinformation.

They like to think they are giving folks ‘more information.’

More anti-vaccine misinformation from the usual suspects.
Nope. It’s just more misinformation about vaccines to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.

In reality, it’s just more misinformation about vaccines…

It’s Just More Anti-Vaccine Misinformation

It’s not even just Bob doing it anymore.

Larry Cook stuffed all of the basic components of anti-vaccine propaganda into one little comment.
Larry Cook stuffed all of the basic components of anti-vaccine propaganda into one little comment.

That’s a lot of misinformation stuffed into one comment…

Got something else?

Yup. Measles. A lot of measles.

A week-long rash that is accompanied by a high fever, cough, and irritability. A week-long rash that can sometimes lead to encephalitis and even death.

A week-long rash that is easily prevented with two doses of the MMR vaccine, which doesn’t shed, rarely causes vaccine-associated measles (38%???), and rarely causes serious side effects.

A life-threatening disease that your kids might unnecessarily be at risk to get because you are listening to these folks who don’t think that vaccines are ever necessary or ever work.

Larry Cook thinks that he knows the real truth about vaccines.

Is that what you believe?

Del Spreads Misinformation

And there are still others spreading misinformation.

“I know that a lot of people read, ‘Oh, Del spreads misinformation,’” he said. “That’s an opinion. I like to call it missed information. This is the information that the mainstream media establishment doesn’t want you to hear.”

I attended an Orthodox anti-vaccine rally. Here’s what I saw.

So what’s some of the “missed information” that Del Bigtree is spreading?

“Over the course of about 12 minutes, Bigtree linked vaccines to the Holocaust and then to child sacrifice. He compared them to Nazi experimentation on unwilling Jewish medical subjects, then to the intentional ritual murder of children, in an effort to debunk the scientific consensus that a critical mass of vaccinated people, or herd immunity, means that even those who cannot be vaccinated for genuine medical reasons will have some protection from getting sick.”

I attended an Orthodox anti-vaccine rally. Here’s what I saw.

While it isn’t surprising that someone like Del Bigtree would say these things, that he would do it at an anti-vaccine rally in the middle of the biggest measles outbreak in 27 years in New York is unbelievable.

More Misinformation from Bob Sears

Want to hear the latest misinformation from Bob Sears?

Where in the package insert does it say that there are very small pieces of fetal tissue in the hepatitis A or chickenpox vaccines???
Where in the package insert does it say that there are very small pieces of fetal tissue in the hepatitis A or chickenpox vaccines???

The guy who brought us his own made up vaccine schedule is claiming that there are “physical pieces of fetal tissue” in vaccines.

Bob Sears usually bans people who correct his misinformation. Let's see how long this comment lasts on his Facebook page...
Bob Sears usually bans people who correct his misinformation. Let’s see how long this comment lasts on his Facebook page…

There aren’t.

Yes, some vaccines are made with fetal embryo fibroblast cells from cell lines that were derived (they can replicate infinitely) from two electively terminated pregnancies in the 1960s.

That certainly does not mean that any vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue though.

The cells used today have been copied, over and over again. They are descendant cells, which is why a common way to explain all of this is to say that vaccines are said to have a “distant association with abortion.”

Missed Information About Vaccines

Not only do vaccines not contain aborted fetal tissue, the fetal embryo fibroblast cells that are used to grow the viruses in these vaccines are mostly removed from the final vaccine our kids get!

“Some vaccines may contain residual quantities of components used during the manufacturing process, including inactivating agents, antibiotics, and cellular residuals. These agents are removed at the end of the manufacturing process, but trace amounts may be present in some vaccines.”

NIH on Other Vaccine Ingredients

If any of the fetal embryo fibroblast cells are present, it is only in trace amounts and as cellular residuals, not even as complete cells.

When used, WI-38 and MRC-5 cells are not necessarily listed in the excipient summary if they are not contained in the final vaccine, but they are still listed in the vaccine's package insert.
When used, WI-38 and MRC-5 cells are not necessarily listed in the excipient summary if they are not contained in the final vaccine, but they are still listed in the vaccine’s package insert.

Anti-vaccine folks don’t usually tell you that…

What ever they now want to call the anti-vaccine misinformation they are pushing to folks, just understand that it is all the same propaganda that is designed to scare you away from vaccinating and protecting your kids.

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Can Vaccines Cause Arthritis?

Many people think that vaccines can cause arthritis.

Vaccines and Arthritis

That’s not surprising, as there are many case reports associating vaccines and arthritis.

Arthritis is even listed as an adverse reaction in the package insert for the MMR vaccine.

While rubella vaccines can cause arthritis, so can a rubella infection.
While rubella vaccines can cause arthritis, so can a rubella infection.

And chronic arthritis is also listed as a table injury for vaccines containing the rubella virus.

Can Vaccines Cause Arthritis?

So that means that vaccines cause arthritis, right?

Actually, no, it doesn’t. At least not the type of arthritis that most people associate with the term arthritis.

Wait, what does that mean?

Vaccines do not cause juvenile arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, for example.

“Rubella-containing vaccines (e.g. MMR) can cause mild, acute, transient arthralgia or arthritis, rarely in children but very commonly in certain adult women (between 10-25% of adult female vaccinees without preexisting rubella immunity), usually beginning 1-3 weeks after vaccination and then persisting up to 3 weeks. Other vaccines currently routinely recommended to the general population in the U.S. have not been shown to cause chronic arthralgia or arthritis.”

Do Vaccines Cause Arthralgia or Arthritis?

While rubella-containing vaccines can cause arthritis, it is a mild type of arthritis that is usually temporary, lasting about two days.

“Postpubertal females should be informed of the frequent occurrence of generally self-limited arthralgia and/or arthritis beginning 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination.”

MMR-II Package Insert

It is also rare in children.

And it also occurs after a natural rubella infection. In fact, up to 70% of adult women with rubella develop arthralgia or arthritis.

Of course, arthritis isn’t the rubella complication that we worry about…

During the rubella epidemic in the United States just before the rubella vaccine was developed, there were 2,000 cases of encephalitis, 11,250 therapeutic or spontaneous abortions, 2,100 neonatal deaths, and 20,000 babies born with congenital rubella syndrome.

Vaccines for Arthritis

Except for temporary arthritis after the rubella vaccine, not only do vaccines not cause arthritis, it is recommended that people with chronic arthritis get vaccinated.

“Keeping up with your vaccinations is always a smart move, but getting immunized is especially important when you have an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both RA and the medicines you take to treat it can increase your risk for infections.”

RA & Vaccinations

And one day, we might even have therapeutic vaccines for arthritis!

Rheumavax completed a phase I clinical trial in Australia a few years ago. That led to the development of a new drug, DEN-181, that is now in phase 1 trials.

What to Know About Vaccines Causing Arthritis

Rubella containing vaccines can cause mild, temporary arthritis, but mostly in postpubertal females and less commonly than after a natural rubella infection.

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Side Effects and Adverse Events Following Immunizations

Vaccines are safe, but they do have some side effects, mostly mild, and they rarely cause some serious and severe adverse reactions.

Vaccine adverse events can be reported to VAERS online or using a downloadable form.
Vaccine adverse events can be reported to VAERS online or using a downloadable form.

To help keep our vaccines safe, it is important that all “clinically important adverse events that occur after vaccination of adults and children” be reported to VAERS, not just the ones that are known to be side effects.

Wait.

Isn’t an adverse event the same as a side effect?

Adverse Events Following Immunizations

To better understand that, let’s first look at how we define an adverse event following immunization (AEFI):

“An Adverse event following immunization (AEFI) is any untoward medical occurrence which follows immunization and which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with the usage of the vaccine. The adverse event may be any unfavourable or unintended sign, abnormal laboratory finding, symptom or disease.”

Classification of AEFIs

So it should be clear that not all adverse events are actually caused by vaccines.

Many are coincidental events that simply occur after a vaccine is given.

What’s the Difference Between Side Effects and Adverse Events Following Immunizations?

Others are true vaccine reactions though, including fever, pain, fainting, and allergic reactions, etc.

“A side effect is any health problem shown by studies to be caused by a vaccine. Like any medication, vaccines can cause side effects. Usually vaccine side effects are minor (for example, a sore arm where a shot was given or a low-grade fever after a vaccine) and go away on their own within a few days.”

Understanding Side Effects and Adverse Events

These are the reactions that we call side effects or adverse reactions of the vaccine.

Still, just because a sign or symptom can be a side effect of a vaccine doesn’t mean that it always will be.

“A vaccine reaction is an individual’s response to the inherent properties of the vaccine, even when the vaccine has been prepared, handled and administered correctly.”

Vaccine reactions – WHO Vaccine Safety Basics

Here are some other definitions:

  • adverse event – Medical occurrence temporally associated with the use of a medicinal product, but not necessarily causally related.
  • adverse reaction/side effect – A response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, and which occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis, or therapy of disease, or for the modifications of physiological function.
  • unexpected adverse reaction – Not consistent with applicable product information or characteristics of drug.
  • severe adverse event or reaction – are rarely life-threatening and usually do not result in long-term problems
  • serious adverse event or reaction – Any untoward medical occurrence that at any dose is life-threatening, results in death, requires inpatient hospitalization or prolongation of existing hospitalization, or results in persistent of significant disability or incapacity

Does understanding those definitions make it easier to see why you should be skeptical when folks try to scare you with VAERS reports and data from package inserts?

“Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.”

Guide to Interpreting VAERS Data

They both can include reports about adverse events, not just side effects. So they both include events that can very well be coincidental, and not caused by a vaccine.

So when doing your research about vaccines, focus on real side effects, or things that are known to be caused by vaccines. You will find that most vaccine side effects are mild and that more serious or severe side effects are very rare.

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