MMR Kids Vaccine Linked to Fever-Related Convulsions

[Celebration]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333432,00.html

Children suffered higher rates of fever-related convulsions when they got a Merck & Co. combination vaccine instead of two separate shots, according to a new study presented this week.

................................

In the study of children ages 12 months through 23 months, the rate of seizures was twice as high in toddlers who got ProQuad, compared with those who got one shot for chickenpox and one for the three other diseases.

The risk translates to about one extra case of convulsion for every 2,000 doses of ProQuad given said Dr. Nicola Klein, who lead the federally funded study. She presented the data at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

.............snip............................

The panel had previously taken a position that they preferred doctors give children as few needlesticks as possible, and that ProQuad is preferable to giving separate shots.

It voted Wednesday to amend that, to say they're no longer voicing a preference for ProQuad over the separate shots.

Hello!! Twice as many seizures and they go from the preference for the Merck vaccine to "no preference." HELLO

[trotsky]

1. The anti-vaxers and FOX News.

A marriage made in heaven. Sensationalism plus anti-science attitudes. It's a wonder they didn't get together sooner!

Klein's research checked seizure rates only at seven to 10 days after vaccination, and looked at about 43,000 kids who got ProQuad and 315,000 who got the two other shots together. It found fever-related seizures occurred at a rate of 9 per 10,000 children vaccinated with ProQuad, compared with 4 per 10,000 for those who got separate shots.

MMR needs to be a live virus vaccine in order to stimulate the immune response to give life-long immunity. Febrile seizures are quite common with diseases like measles in the first place, so why is this surprising? The weakened virus can produce some of the same symptoms as the real thing. Gosh I'm shocked. I'm FOX News shocked.

If only there was any research indicating how harmful these mild seizures can be.

Oh, hey! There is!

The Risk of Seizures After Receipt of Whole-Cell Pertussis or Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccine
...
CONCLUSIONS: There are significantly elevated risks of febrile seizures on the day of receipt of DTP vaccine and 8 to 14 days after the receipt of MMR vaccine, but these risks do not appear to be associated with any long-term, adverse consequences.

More...

Keep watching FOX News. The most trusted name in news - for ANTI-VAXERS!

[Celebration]

2. kill the messenger?

This is a STRAIGHT NEWS story. And it is not anti-vaccine. It is a news story that states that the number of convulsions doubled WITH ONE PARTICULAR COMBINATION of vaccines.

Why endorse that?

[trotsky]

3. "Why endorse that?"

You asking me, or the panel?

Say the vaccine generates better immunity, with fewer individual vaccinations, at the slightly increased risk of an evidently harmless side-effect. Doesn't sound to me like it should be condemned or discontinued, and I guess this panel of EXPERTS agrees.

[Celebration]

4. have you seen a kid with convulsions?

If so, you wouldn't choose this combination, which doubles the risk of that. And this has nothing to do with the immunity of the vaccination, just the convenience of having one injection over two.

Would you seriously choose this combination for your kid, rather than two separate shots?

If so, you are completely out of your mind.

[trotsky]

8. Unlike you, I understand statistics.

Would you seriously choose this combination for your kid, rather than two separate shots?

I also can recognize alarmist bullshit when I see it. If this vaccine were more effective, with only a .09% (that's 9 out of 10,000 in case you didn't know) risk of a febrile seizure with no long-term effects, I don't see an overwhelming reason to reject it.

A considerable number of children will suffer a febrile seizure with an ordinary ear infection or cold. Should we run around screaming about that?

[mzmolly]

5. The AP and MSNBC have reported on this as well:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23388526/

And, Larry King had a physician on last night who remarked on this study.

Isn't it funny that "convulsions" - "pneumonia" - "fever" various side effects etc. are scary when a disease causes them, but when it's a vaccine, it's considered meaningless? Thanks for this info.

[Celebration]

6. yeah, I have noticed that

Oh, X disease can cause convulsions (or fill in symptom of choice)......scary, take a vaccine
Oh, X vaccine can cause convulsions(or fill in symptom of choice) ......shut up, take the shot

[mzmolly]

7. EXACTLY!

You nailed it - LOL :rofl:

[trotsky]

9. I guess if you had total ignorance of statistics and severity,

you'd find that strange.

[cosmik debris]

10. Have you ever noticed

That it is a lot easier to scare ignorant people? In fact the less they know, the more easily frightened they are.

I believe that is why this is called the health scare lounge.

[Celebration]

11. fear

I suppose you have a lot of fear that a one month old infant is going to get hepatitis B?

Somehow that is not a fear on my radar screen.

Maybe that is why the French are charging manslaughter--inability to weigh risks.

[cosmik debris]

12. It must get old

Always having to fall back on the appeal to emotion.

It is a real shame that you have nothing better.

[chicagomd]

18. Man,

what is it with you and the Hep B?

I suspect the reason that fear is not on your radar screen is probably because of your ignorance of the issue and an inability to grasp basic public health concepts due to your pre-conceived notions of immunization.

[trotsky]

13. Very, very true.

It's worked quite well for the Republicans and TERROR TERROR TERROR.

Not surprising that other groups without facts on their side would adopt the same tactic.

[Celebration]

14. what is really amazing

Is that you don't seem to care whether kids have double the risk of convulsions with a combination vaccine, when another equally effective type is available. That's just plain crazy.

[trotsky]

15. Again such an ignorance of statistics.

The chance of developing encephalitis or meningitis from measles is 1 in 1000. For every 1000 children who contract measles the disease, 1 of them will have condition that could be fatal, or lead to severe disability. Versus LESS than 1 of every 1000 children who get this particular vaccine having a brief febrile seizure which has no lasting side-effects.

Are you telling me that you really don't see a difference here?

This isn't even taking into consideration all the more common complications of measles the disease, which of course include seizures.

Statistics. Learn about them. You don't have to be afraid of everything.

[Celebration]

16. So what?

This is ridiculous. Why take any increased risk, however small? There isn't even a cost advantage. There would be no reason at all to take an increased risk.

We aren't talking about not vaccinating here. We are talking one vaccination set vs. another.

Anyone who would take even a small additional risk for no reason at all would have to have rocks for brains.

[trotsky]

17. You really don't understand, do you?

There is one advantage mentioned by the article, by getting that vaccine, you spare the child another shot. Sure you double the risk of a harmless side effect. But the original risk of that was SO LOW that even doubling it makes it affect LESS THAN 1 out of 1000 children. Compared to suffering the actual measles disease, of which 1 out of a 1000 are guaranteed to have a nasty neurological illness that usually results in death or long-term damage.

Anyone who would take even a small additional risk for no reason at all would have to have rocks for brains.

I agree. The anti-vaxers are nuts, aren't they?