Childhood Vaccine Safety Studies Are Largely "Inadequate"

So often people have difficulty in accepting that special interest groups such as drug companies who manufacture vaccines, or agencies who advocate the use of vaccines, could be responsible for "pushing" a vaccine through its safety trial phase of development.  

The truth of the matter is that such deviations from what would be considered in the interests of the public's safety DOES happen on a some what regular basis.

Most safety studies on childhood vaccines are not thorough enough to determine whether the vaccinations cause side effects, according to a leading authority on vaccine research.

The lack of thoroughness is partly because government officials failed to make it a high priority.

Although there is some good research on childhood vaccines, it is overwhelmed by the bad. The public has been let down because the proper studies have not been done, according to experts.

Public health officials fear that the accusation will alter parents' confidence in national vaccination programs. Many parents are already opting against the triple measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine after it was associated with autism and bowel disease.

Experts noted that while there is no evidence suggesting that any current vaccine is dangerous, studies on their risks and benefits are scarce and theinformation available is "simply inadequate."

Moreover, future vaccination programs will likely involve giving children up to seven vaccines at once. Because of this it is becoming more and more difficult to determine what problems may be due to an individual vaccine.

In Europe, plans for a Europe-wide electronic register of children's vaccine exposure that would allow scientists to investigate the risks and benefits of inoculations using data on thousands of participants may help to determine the origin of problems.

Though governments are generally reluctant to accept such systems, experts say that systems to monitor vaccines are needed urgently.

SOURCE:  Telegraph October 27, 2002

One of the reasons vaccines MUST be assessed is for no other reason than to safeguard the health and well-being of our children.  Too often the conditions that the vaccines or drugs that are given to our children for, are over shadowed in comparison to the health conditions that the vaccines themselves can give to the child.