Opportunity for Public comment/input ~ see below:

We must advocate for independent evaluation of the long term health impacts related to vaccines. This is because in 2011, the IOM reported that 85% of adverse event/vaccine relationships have not be adequately studied. (The full summary table of AE/vaccine pairs and their findings can be found here: http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2011/Adverse-Effects-of-Vaccines-Evidence-and-Causality/summary2.pdf.)

We have the chance to provide our input between now and July 31, 2012 – and to insist on fully independent evaluation of the long term health impacts related to vaccines. We must insist that such a study be done properly, by studying vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations, with a focus on the long-term health outcomes of “the schedule” versus “no schedule”.

As you know, vaccines are legally considered “unavoidably unsafe” and may cause severe injury or death. The US government, in the Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, stipulated that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is charged with reviewing causal relationship between vaccines and adverse events and to update the vaccine injury table as causal relationships are found. A full book by IOM on Adverse Effects of Vaccines was published in 2011 and can be found at http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13164&page=R1.

A quick summary:

158 adverse event-vaccine (AE/v) combinations were studied. According to IOM, the evidence:

Convincingly supports a causal relationship in 14 AE/vaccine relationships
Favors acceptance of a causal relationship in 4 AE and vaccine relationships
Favors rejection of a causal relationship in 5 AE/vaccine relationships (note: this includes MMR-autism)
Inadequate to accept or reject: 135 AE/vaccine relationships (85%)

The US govt is expanding the Vaccine Injury Tables based on 2011’s findings. Here is detailed background (28 page PDF) http://t.co/iOGLZznW.

On a more local level, here in Vermont it would be useful for you to share the IOM 2011 summary table (and your vaccine concerns) with your local candidates for senate and/or house of representative.

Public comment/input ~ see below:

Opportunity for Public Comment:
Revised Commissioned Paper

The Committee on Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule has commissioned a revised paper from a consultant, Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., titled, Study Designs for the Safety Evaluation of Different Childhood Immunization Schedules. This paper was made available on the project’s website on July 12, 2012. We will be inviting comments and reactions to the paper to inform the committee discussion. The comment period has been extended until July 31, 2012, and can be accessed at:http://www.iom.edu/HealthOutcomesCommissionedPaperPlease note that any comments that you submit to the committee, including your name and identifying information, will not be kept confidential and will be included in a Public Access File in compliance with Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The National Academies shall be authorized to use any such comments or submissions in accordance with the National Academies’ Terms of Use Statement.

The responsibility for the content of the paper rests with the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Institute of Medicine or its committees and convening bodies.

For more information, please visit the Committee on Assessment of Studies of Health Outcomes Related to the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule’s webpage:http://www.iom.edu/Activities/PublicHealth/ChildhoodImmunization.aspx.