PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 562 - 20 Sep 2008

US parents still not joining the dotsover vaccine safety, says CDC

Despite national immunisation rates remaining atrecord high levels, recent outbreaks of measles in the USdemonstrate that growing pockets of people across thecountry are refusing vaccines due in part tounsubstantiated fears about vaccine safety, according tothe latest results from the US Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention’s* National ImmunizationSurvey.

So far this year, 131 children have contractedmeasles; 91% of these children were not vaccinated.Executive director of Every Child By Two Amy Pisanicomments that "the MMR question has now beenasked and answered, over 20 times". She goes on tosay that "the MMR vaccine does not cause autism",and that "our children are at serious risk of contractingdevastating, but wholly preventable, diseases". Celebrityspokesperson for Every Child By Two’s "Vaccinate YourBaby" campaign Amanda Peet declares "parents have toget the facts: vaccines save lives".* CDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Immunization Rates Remain Strong.Media Release : 4 Sep 2008. Available from: URL: http://www.ecbt.org 809092844

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 20 Sep 2008 No. 5621173-5503/10/0562-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved