Oxford Vaccine trial put on hold - participant suffers severe reaction

[Zendieta]

You/we have until 18th September to respond to the consultation linked below. I hope that those who have issue with the use of unlicensed medicinal products take this opportunity to voice their concerns.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consu...s-to-support-the-rollout-of-covid-19-vaccines

 

[Zendieta]

I have spoken to parents at school who still won't allow their child the mmr because of autism, even though it's proven to be b*llocks.

Informed decisions need to be made by everyone. I think a parent will always take comfort when they have made a fully informed decision and that mentally it is the most important thing.

I believe the Danish study (that I assume you are referring to) stated that "no link" was found. There was also an argument relating to the potential conflict of interest of that study. Unfortunately, data used in any study is only as strong as the records are accurate - hence the debate will be around for a long time yet.

It is important that we read the datasheets for medicine before making a decision. Most of the information that we need to make an informed decision is available - we need to digest and risk-assess for ourselves. It seems that an increasing number of parents are choosing not to vaccinate purely from hearsay, which is alarming. The same goes for those who vaccinate without even reading the datasheet.

 

[SmallTown]

I understand the need to protect patient confidentiality but surely they could make a statement to clarify that whoever the person was and whatever condition they suffered from, this "adverse event" could not be definitively linked to the effects of the vaccine?

I mean, I'm assuming that's what they found, given that they're allowing the trial to resume - but I think not making a clearer statement to that effect is a bit of a misstep.

The way they've done it, smacks of high-handedness to me. It's almost as if they're saying, "We're not going to give you any information about what happened, other than to say that we're allowing the trial to restart."

I honestly don't think they can. Patient records and their security are so important. Any alight clue might help people work out who it is.

 

[Liamo]

I believe the Danish study (that I assume you are referring to) stated that "no link" was found. There was also an argument relating to the potential conflict of interest of that study. Unfortunately, data used in any study is only as strong as the records are accurate - hence the debate will be around for a long time yet.

It's not just "the Danish study." It's every study of the issue that's ever been done (that wasn't fraudulent, that is).

There have been over a dozen properly-conducted studies that have looked into the question of a link between vaccines and autism, every single one failed to find any evidence of a link.

For instance, one meta-analysis done in 2014 combined the results of ten separate studies involving a total of over 1.2 million children and found no evidence of a causal link between vaccines and autism.

Vaccines are not associated with autism

 

[Liamo]

I honestly don't think they can. Patient records and their security are so important. Any slight clue might help people work out who it is.

That ship has already sailed. I think he was wrong to do it, but Dr Francis Collins of the US NIH told Congress that the participant in question was a woman and that she had suffered a case of transverse myelitis (even though that's never been officially confirmed).

In any event, all they had to do was say something along the lines of, "There is no evidence that the adverse event that led to a pause on the trial, was causally linked to the vaccine."

Such a statement would contain absolutely no clue as to the identity of the person involved.

However all they've put out is an incredibly vague statement saying basically that cases of illness are inevitable in a large study and the trial has been given the go ahead to continue.

Nothing that I've seen, says whether this is because the event was not linked to the vaccine or that (for instance) it was but that it was so mild as to not be worth worrying about.

I'd just like a little more clarity and I'm sure that that could have been done without revealing anything about the individual person.

 

[Zendieta]

It's not just "the Danish study." It's every study of the issue that's ever been done (that wasn't fraudulent, that is).

There have been over a dozen properly-conducted studies that have looked into the question of a link between vaccines and autism, every single one failed to find any evidence of a link.

For instance, one meta-analysis done in 2014 combined the results of ten separate studies involving a total of over 1.2 million children and found no evidence of a causal link between vaccines and autism.

Vaccines are not associated with autism

I'm not disputing any findings from any study as I would not feel confident to do so. I was merely stating that most studies are open to some form of criticism - whether it be the data selected/used or conflict of interest. I referred to the recent Danish Cohort Study (as of topic) as it is the study that is listed on the NHS website in relation to MMR (both vaccine types/manufacturers) links to autism (or not, as it may be).

I want to be clear, I would NEVER give an opinion on vaccine safety as I am not qualified to do so. I believe the decision should as informed as possible, case by case and at the discretion of the person/parent.

 

[Liamo]

I want to be clear, I would NEVER give an opinion on vaccine safety as I am not qualified to do so. I believe the decision should as informed as possible, case by case and at the discretion of the person/parent.

And I am not trying to give an opinion either, I'm simply pointing to the studies done by those who are qualified to give the scientific findings they have come up with by conducting properly-constituted studies.

So let's by all means be clear - and what is clear is that no proper study has ever found any evidence whatsoever of a link between vaccines and autism - not a one.

 

[UKLL1981]

Autism has always existed, it’s just now we have a better understanding of it, autistic children would of been branded as naughty or difficult just a few decades ago. We also have a larger population (so therefore more examples) and these days we love to label everything and everyone. Despite multiple studies there isn’t a single shred of evidence linking the mmr jab with autism in children, you might as well blame autism in children on Liverpool winning the league because that’s about the same correlation.