[Policy Statement] Vaccines safe, Institute of Medicine reports

Jan 16th – The IOM and AAP agree that there is no evidence of a role of vaccines in autoimmune diseases, asthma, seizures or language/developmental disorders.

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Image: PD. The famous image of Jonas Salk, who discovered the polio vaccine. 

In a statement released today:

1. The IOM has reported that the current childhood immunization schedule is safe, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agrees and reaffirms the importance of proper vaccination. 

2. The IOM states that there is no evidence of a role of vaccines in autoimmune diseases, asthma, seizures or language/developmental disorders.

The issue of vaccinations has become a hot topic in recent years, heightened by various cases of disease and developmental disorders thought to be linked to the vaccination schedule. However, there still remains little to no robust evidence to support the practice of refraining from vaccination. On the contrary, many studies have reaffirmed the importance of immunizations. One such investigation is a JAMA study, which found that refraining from the measles vaccine resulted in a 35 fold increase in risk of contracting measles.

“Parents should know that immunizing their children on time significantly reduces their risk of potentially dangerous infectious diseases, including measles, whooping cough and influenza,” said Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The current vaccine schedule designed for physician use is available from the CDC here. A patient-centered version can be seen here.

The following reading provides more insight from the AAP about the role of vaccination in childhood illness and disease:

• IOM report: no relationship between thimerosal vaccines and autism
• The relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism
• Infant immunizations not shown to be harmful to infants’ systems

Click here to read the IOM consensus report, released today

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