Although the majority of parents in the US feel that vaccination is 'extremely important,' a significant minority thinks that their kids are subjected to too many vaccines.
A telephone survey of 1600 parents of young children found that:
one in four believes that a "child's immune system could become weakened as a result of too many immunizations"
These parental opinions could contribute to parental misgivings about immunizations, particularly at a time when more vaccines are coming on the market and the injection schedule is becoming more complex, said Dr. Bruce Gellin, executive director of the National Network for Immunization Information, which conducted the telephone survey.
He notes that the percent of parents with concerns may be even higher now, since the survey took place in 1999, before the recall of the rotavirus vaccine. That vaccine was recalled because it was found to cause intussusception, a type of bowel obstruction that needs to be surgically corrected.
Since that time, the FDA has announced that it is removing thimerosol, a mercury preservative, from childhood vaccines. These types of announcements leave parents with more questions than answers, according to Dr. Gellin.
The National Network for Immunization Information is a new organization launched to educate parents and physicians. The organization is funded by nonprofit organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, though it originally relied on unrestricted grants from vaccine manufacturers, Dr. Gellin said. The network does not accept funds from the government or drug companies.
"People who are asking the questions need to be assured that this is not a government enterprise, not a pharmaceutical enterprise, but the enterprise of medicine," he said.
Pediatrics November, 2000; 106: 1097-1102
In addition, it is always good to be a little suspicious and cautious as to claims of not accepting funding from pharmaceutical companies. Just a brief investigation shows how shallow this claim by this group, The National Network for Immunization Information, is. Although they don't DIRECTLY receive funds from drug companies, they are funded partially by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which does receive funding from drug companies. As a matter of fact, RWJF owns over 5 million dollars worth of stock in the Johnson and Johnson Corporation (J&J) as well as millions in other companies as well. J&J one of the world's largest companies in the health care products field, with many products, including Tylenol, Motrin, cancer drugs, and birth control pills.
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