A new study says that if a vaccine causes a bad reaction in a child, you can still get more vaccines. The study says that a child who has an adverse event following an initial vaccine isn’t likely to have another adverse event with subsequent vaccines.
“Most patients with a history of mild or moderate adverse events following immunization [AEFI] can be safely reimmunized,” write Gaston De Serres, MD, of Laval University, Quebec, and colleagues.
Sixteen percent of patients experienced some type of recurrent AEFI after re-vaccination. In more than 80 percent of cases, the recurrent reaction was no more severe than the initial reaction. The researchers analyzed potential risk factors for recurrent reactions, including:
Patient Characteristics. Children under age 2 were more likely to be re-vaccinated and less likely to have recurrent reactions, compared to older patients. Recurrence risk was similar for males and females.
Type of AEFI.
Recurrence
rate was similar for patients with most types of initial AEFIs. The risk was highest (67 percent) for patients with large local reactions with “extensive limb swelling.” For patients who had allergic-type reactions, the recurrence rate was 12 percent. Severe allergic events (anaphylaxis) were very rare after re-vaccination.
- Severity
of AEFI. Patients with more severe initial AEFIs were less likely to be re-vaccinated: only 60 percent of children with severe reactions were re-vaccinated, compared to 80 percent of those with less-severe reactions. Within this selected group, patients with severe AEFIs were less likely to have recurrences: eight versus 17 percent.
Type of Vaccine. The recurrence rate did not differ significantly for different types of vaccines. The re-vaccination rate was highest (90 percent) for children with AEFIs to diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines.
It’s difficult to imagine that this study is going over well with parents of vaccine injured children. No matter what any “study” claims, it is hard to imagine any parent trusting a vaccine after watching their child endure an injury from one. This is the first reimmunizing study to be accomplished.