Do you have questions regarding the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil?
Viral Marketing: Questions on Efficacy Cloud a Cancer Vaccine
Merck Predicts Big Fall In Cervical Lesions, But Data Are Complex
by John Carreyrou, The Wall Street Journal, Apr 16, 2007
Eliav Barr, the head of Merck's HPV vaccine program, says Gardasil is a "lifesaving" vaccine and its widespread adoption will result in "a substantial decline in the rate of cervical cancer." Dr. Barr says Merck provided "an extremely strong dossier" on Gardasil that both the FDA and the CDC have deemed satisfactory. But behind the scenes, Gardasil has been dogged by uncertainty about how effective it really is.
For more information regarding Merck & Co.'s Gardasil vaccine, please download the full article at the Wall Street Journal's web site or contact our office.
Current Vaccine Recommendations
The currently recommended schedule of childhood immunizations has been released by the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and the AAFP (American Academy of Family Practice). This schedule calls for 8 vaccines to be given to all children, some in multiple doses, over the first 12 years of a child's life. This schedule does not include the meningococcal vaccine which is also recommended for those going to college.
To see the Childhood Immunization schedule click here.
To see the Adolescent Immunization schedule, click here.
This is the schedule for those who are out of step, or behind in their shots, click here.
Several vaccine remain in short supply despite the AAP and CDC recommendations. If you have a particular concern regarding your child's vaccine status, please call us.
Pennsylvania's HMO's ranked in recent report
This state's HMO's have recently been ranked by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council for patient satisfaction and availability of certain types of services. The report focuses on the HMO's use of services that identify more serious health problems that might have been avoided by with proper preventative health care. How did your HMO measure up? You might be surprised! Check it out at http://www.phc4.org
New Polio Vaccine Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Although there has been some controversy, the AAP recently joined with the CDC in finally agreement: It is now recommended that the first two doses of Polio Vaccine be the killed, or injectable, type. This is because the incidence of Polio has been reduced to the point where the chance of contracting Polio from the vaccine itself is becoming a significant risk compared to the risk of contracting the natural infection. There are approximately 6-10 cases of Polio reported in the U.S. each year from the vaccine strain of the virus; there have been no instances of Polio in the U.S. from the natural strain. However, there is still wild-type Polio in other parts of the world; travelers should contact the CDC's travel advisory service (see our links page) for the most recent recommendations.
Vaccine Risks and Benefits
Many parents are interested in the risks as well as benefits of the childhood immunizations. However, all too often, parents don't know where to turn to obtain scientific information. In response, we have put together the following list (with hyperlinks whenever possible) to informed sources. As always, if you have questions about your specific situation, please don't hesitate to call or write.
AAP News, a monthly publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics, contains current policies and immunization recommendations. You can subscribe to this news magazine, that contains a great deal of information relevant to children's health issues besides immunization concerns, for $40.00/year. To order, call (800) 433-9016.
Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) formulates vaccine recommendations and designates those to be included in the Vaccines for (VFC) Children program. While these statements are published as a supplement to the MMWR reports as above, and available from the same web site, they can also be obtained directly by telephone request at (800) 232-2522.
The CDC National Immunization Information Hotline provides the location of immunization clinics, information about immunization schedules and safety issues, and answers to common questions about immunization. The hotline is (800) 232-2522 and is open between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.
The FDA's Office of Communication, Training and Manufacturers' Assistance maintains a consumer-information hotline to answer questions about vaccine safety and regulations. The office's website has current vaccine information, including vaccine recalls: http://www.fda.gov/cber
Immunize-L is a free listserv operated by the NTIS. Three times each week it sends out the Immunization News Service containing abstracts from newspapers, news wires, medical journals, and other periodicals on immunization-related biomedical, clinical, epidemiological,and psychosocial issues. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listproc@aspensys.com with "subscribe immunize-l firstname lastname" in the body of the message.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports publishes the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule, United States annually or semiannually as a supplement to the MMWR reports. These reports and recommendations can be obtained from the CDC web site: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/mmwr.html
The National Immunization Program (NIP) website http:\\www.cdc.gov/nip uses a question and answer format to provide information about immunizations. It also offers useful publications, including 14 vaccine safety fact sheets. Just click on "publications".
The National Immunization Technical Information Service (NTIS) allows access to immunization specific databases of educational materials, news articles, and upcoming conferences at its web site, http://www.immunization.org
Red Book - Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics (2001), updated every two to three years, contains the current recommendations on the use of all licensed vaccines and guidelines for the prevention and management of infectious diseases in children. It is available at local book stores and direct from the American Academy of Pediatrics at $79.95. To order, call (800) 433-9016.
Vaccine Safety Forum: The Summaries of Two Workshops (1997), reports released by the Institute of Medicine's Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, outlines the proceedings of two workshops, one on adverse events following vaccination and the other on risks for adverse events. Visit the Institutes website at http://www.nap.edu
What Every Parent Should Know About Vaccines (1998) by Paul A. Offit, MD and Louis M. Bell, MD, of the Infectious Disease Department of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, presents a history of vaccines, information on the diseases the vaccines prevent, and the risks and benefits of each vaccine. This paper back book retails for $12.95. This book is in our practice's lending library.
