Nothing to whoop about

Article Abstract:

Conclusions about vaccine side effects drawn from studies using results from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) may not be completely accurate. VAERS is a databank that collects reports of significant vaccine side effects from public and private health care providers, pharmacists, child care workers, and parents. A recent vaccine study that relied on data from VAERS may be incomplete due to inconsistencies in this reporting system as well as flaws in their study design. Side effect reports to VAERS from the private sector are not mandatory and do not follow consistent guidelines. VAERS also does not track the number of vaccines given but only the number of vaccines distributed to health care providers. This study neglected to provide details about VAERS, did not track patients for an appropriate length of time, allowed doctors to know which vaccine was given, and were unclear about the timing of the vaccines.

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An errant critique that misses the mark

Article Abstract:

Concerns recently raised about the accuracy of vaccine studies using data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) may be legitimate but short-sighted. VAERS is a databank that collects reports of significant vaccine side effects from public and private health care providers, pharmacists, child care workers, and parents. Under-reporting of significant side effects through VAERS, estimated to be between 2% and 98%, is most likely consistent across vaccine types. Therefore comparisons of side effect trends across vaccine types are reasonable using data from VAERS. Many serious side effects occur quite rarely and detection is difficult in most smaller controlled studies. VAERS, however, combines data from millions of vaccine users and detection of rare side effects is more likely. Use of the Vaccine Safety Datalink may provide more accurate and unbiased vaccine safety data in the future.

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The safety of acellular pertussis vaccine vs whole-cell pertussis vaccine: a postmarketing assessment

Article Abstract:

It appears that a combination vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, or pertussis, that does not contain the whooping cough virus cell (DTaP) may be safer than a combination vaccine containing this cell (DTP). Researchers compared the frequency of reported side effects in approximately 27 million children aged 15 months to 7 years receiving the DTP vaccine and in 5 million similarly aged children receiving the DTaP vaccine. Doctors reported three to four times as many significant side effects with the DTP vaccine as compared to the DTaP vaccine. The most commonly reported side effect was fever for the DTP vaccine and a local skin reaction for the DTaP vaccine. Seizures and fever were the most common condition reported for those children hospitalized in association with either vaccine.

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