The issue of vaccine safety has been making headlines lately. Some of the publicity-particularly in the lay press and television-has been negative.
The issue of vaccine safety has been making headlines lately. Some of the publicity-particularly in the lay press and television-has been negative. This is worrisome, of course, because concerns about safety can affect compliance with vaccinations and, ultimately, public health.
What are the localized effects of vaccines? In this podcast (the first in a series on the topic), Ellen Clayton, MD, offers a brief overview of specific findings from a landmark Institute of Medicine study that she chaired.1 That study looked at adverse effects of vaccines and on evidence and causality.
Dr Clayton is Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Law, and Director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University. She is an internationally respected leader in the field of law and genetics, and also serves on the advisory council of the Institute of Medicine.
Vaccines-Exactly How Safe Are They?
Reference:1. Stratton K, Ford A, Rusch E, Clayton E. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies-National Academies Press; 2011. www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13164. Accessed November 18, 2011.
Infant RSV hospitalization rates 28%, 43% lower this season vs pre-COVID seasons
May 9th 2025"These findings support Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendations for maternal vaccination or nirsevimab to protect against severe RSV disease in infants," wrote the MMWR study investigators.