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A failed vaccine clinical trial – it happens

There is a trope that Big Pharma has an open door to push whatever drug they want onto the unwitting public, whenever they want, irrespective of any safety and effectiveness data. For those who actually work in Big Pharma, this causes more nervous laughter than any other trope, because they know how hard and complicated it is to actually do so.

I’ve written previously that less than 10% of hyped pre-clinical data ever makes it through clinical trials so that it might be considered valuable evidence for clinical decisions. And less than 10% of drugs, such as cancer treatments, ever make it from the first step through the last step (often called pivotal studies) of clinical trials to gain regulatory approval (pdf).

So if Big Pharma is lying to the public about the quality of their drugs (and by extension, vaccines), and then bribing the FDA to cover up these lies, they are laughably incompetent. I guess if they really were that inept, it’s a good thing.

But now we come to a failed vaccine clinical trial – what does that tell us about vaccine development. Continue reading “A failed vaccine clinical trial – it happens”

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The benefits of immunization: reducing pneumonia hospitalizations

pneumonia_355pxIn this blog, I have spent an inordinate amount of time refuting claims from vaccine deniers about the effectiveness of vaccines (along with debunking claims about safety). Even if the safety claims were legitimate, and they are not, in general,  even close to being legitimate, the antivaccinationists give disproportionate weight to the adverse events over the actual benefits of the vaccination. For example, I just reviewed an article about non-medical exemptions to vaccinations, in which the authors concluded that, “the past several decades have seen a shift in parental concerns from disease prevention to vaccination risks, largely and paradoxically because of the success of large scale immunization.” 

But it’s much more than just ignoring the successes of vaccinations, sometimes the vaccine denier community will actually misrepresent and revise history, to make facetious, and easily discredited,  claims such as diseases were disappearing before vaccines. Sometimes, the vaccine refusers confuse mortality and morbidity, failing to understand how vaccines have reduced both. Or they just invent stories to show that the decline in infectious diseases was caused by anything but vaccines. Continue reading “The benefits of immunization: reducing pneumonia hospitalizations”

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New 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine is safe

pneumonia_355pxA recent study, published in the journal Vaccine, provided evidence that the new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is as safe as the previous version, the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7). The newer version of the vaccine, introduced in 2010 after clinical trials, protects against a broader range of pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae, a significant human pathogenic bacterium) subtypes. These studies show that the new version did not increase  the risk for any serious adverse events related to the vaccine.

Pneumococcal disease is a serious health care issue, especially for children and adults with certain risk factors. Pneumococcal disease can lead to various serious diseases like pneumonia and bacterial meningitis, or less serious ones like otitis media. Unfortunately, pneumococcal disease can be fatal. In some cases, it can result in long-term problems, like brain damage, hearing loss, and limb loss. Continue reading “New 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine is safe”

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Measles vaccine may be more effective if administered slightly later

A new research study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases has demonstrated that the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) was more effective in teenagers who received their first dose of the two dose series at 15 months rather than at 12 months. The study was based on a more than 750 cases in 2011 of measles were reported in Quebec, Canada. Those individuals had received the routine 2-dose measles immunization schedule which is given at 12 and 18 months of age, which had been in effect in Quebec since 1996. This study assessed the effectiveness of this schedule during this outbreak that occurred during high school. Continue reading “Measles vaccine may be more effective if administered slightly later”

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Measles–outbreak in England grows

 

Child with measles rash after 3 days. Credit to Centers for Disease Control.

As reported earlier, Merseyside, a city in northwest England, is experiencing a significant measles out break. The number of confirmed cases in Merseyside has exceeded 300, making it the largest measles outbreak in the that part of England since 1988.

According to the BBC, there have been 301 confirmed measles cases in the area, 90 of which are in teenagers. Although the number of children who receive the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella has reached an all-time high, young adults and teenagers are still at risk, according to the BBC. Continue reading “Measles–outbreak in England grows”

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More whooping cough outbreaks, now Wisconsin

This week must be whooping cough news week, which means it’s not a good week.  The Wausau (Wisconsin) Daily Herald reports that a whooping cough outbreak has hit the Wausau area.  According to the report, more than 100 cases have been seen in the area since the beginning of 2012.  And as we have discussed, although the disease is not usually dangerous, it has significant consequences for a number of people including children and those who are immune compromised. Continue reading “More whooping cough outbreaks, now Wisconsin”