Adverse Effects of Vaccines Evidence and Causality Editors Kathleen Stratton, Andrew Ford, Erin Rusch, Ellen Wright Clayton Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality Adverse Effects of Vaccines Evidence and Causality Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice Kathleen Stratton, Andrew Ford, Erin Rusch, and Ellen Wright Clayton, Editors Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by Contract No. HHSH230200446009I, Task Order 13 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion and the National Vaccine Program Offce also provided support through that contract. Any opinions, fndings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily refect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines. Adverse effects of vaccines : evidence and causality / Committee to Review Adverse Effects of Vaccines, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice ; Kathleen Stratton ... [et al.], editors. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-309-21435-3 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-0-309-21436-0 (PDF) I. Stratton, Kathleen R. II. Title. [DNLM: 1. Vaccines—adverse effects. 2. Bacterial Infections—prevention & control. 3. Causality. 4. Virus Diseases—prevention & control. QW 805] 615.3’72—dc23 2012007052 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; Internet, http://www.nap.edu. For more information about the Institute of Medicine, visit the IOM home page at: www. iom.edu. Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. 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Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality COMMITTEE TO REVIEW ADVERSE EFFECTS OF VACCINES Ellen Wright Clayton (Chair), Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics; Director, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society; Professor of Law; Vanderbilt University Inmaculada B. Aban, Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama, Birmingham Douglas J. Barrett, Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, Pathology, Immunology, & Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine Martina Bebin, Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Associate Professor and Attending Physician, University of California, San Francisco 1 Graham A. Colditz, Associate Director for Prevention and Control, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, and Niess-Gain Professor in the School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine Martha Constantine-Paton, Investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research; Professor of Biology, Department of Biology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Deborah J. del Junco, Senior Epidemiologist and Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Betty A. Diamond, Head, Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Disease, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore- LIJ Health System S. Claiborne Johnston, Associate Vice Chancellor of Research; Director, Clinical and Translational Science, Institute Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology; Director, Neurovascular Disease and Stroke Center; University of California, San Francisco Anthony L. Komaroff, Steven P. Simcox, Patrick A. Clifford, and James H. Higby Professor of Medicine; Senior Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Harvard Medical School B. Paige Lawrence, Associate Professor of Environmental Medicine; Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry M. Louise Markert, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology, Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center 1 Committee member resigned August 2010. v Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality 2 Ruby H. N. Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health Marc C. Patterson, Chair, Division of Child and Adolescent Neurology; Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Medical Genetics; Director, Child Neurology Training Program, Mayo Clinic Hugh A. Sampson, Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology; Dean for Translational Biomedical Sciences; Director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Pauline A. Thomas, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, New Jersey Medical School; and Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Leslie P. Weiner, Richard Angus Grant, Sr. Chair in Neurology; Professor of Neurology and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Study Staff Kathleen Stratton, Study Director Andrew Ford, Program Offcer Erin Rusch, Research Associate Trevonne Walford, Research Assistant (from August 2009) William McLeod, Senior Research Librarian Hope Hare, Administrative Assistant Amy Pryzbocki, Financial Associate Rose Marie Martinez, Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice 2 Committee member resigned March 2010. vi Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality Reviewers This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confdential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Steven Black, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Patricia K. Crumrine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Anne A. Gershon, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons Marie R. Griffn, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Neal Halsey, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Diane Harper, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine Gerald T. Nepom, University of Washington Richard Platt, Harvard Medical School Stanley A. Plotkin, University of Pennsylvania Sam Shekar, Northrop Grumman Donald Silberberg, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center vii Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality viii REVIEWERS John J. Treanor, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Chris Wilson, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the fnal draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Charles C. J. Carpenter, The Miriam Hospital, and Floyd E. Bloom, The Scripps Research Institute. Appointed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the fnal content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality Preface Vaccines are widely recognized as one of the greatest public health successes of the last century, signifcantly reducing morbidity and mortality from a variety of bacteria and viruses. Diseases that were once the cause of many outbreaks, common causes of loss of health and life, are now rarely seen, because they have been prevented by vaccines. However, vaccines can in rare cases themselves cause illness. A rare potential for harm can loom large when people no longer experience or fear the targeted disease. In this regard, the public opinion of vaccines can be a victim of their success. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was charged by Congress when it enacted the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act in 1986 with reviewing the litera- ture regarding the adverse events associated with vaccines covered by the program, a charge which the IOM has addressed 11 times in the past 25 years. Following in this tradition, the task of this committee was to assess dispassionately the scientifc evidence about whether eight different vaccines cause adverse events (AE), a total of 158 vaccine-AE pairs, the largest study undertaken to date, and the frst comprehensive review since 1994. The committee had a herculean task, requiring long and thoughtful discussions of our approach to analyzing the studies culled from more than 12,000 peer-reviewed articles in order to reach our conclusions, which are spelled out in the chapters that follow. In the process, we learned some lessons that may be of value for future efforts to evaluate vaccine safety. One is that some issues simply cannot be resolved with currently available epidemiologic data, excellent as some of the collections and studies are. Particularly for rare events, we look to the day when electronic medical records truly are universal and when society reaches a broad-based con- ix Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.