Vaccines have low risk of serious side effects: study

WASHINGTON: Some childhood vaccines are linked to serious side effects, but they are quite rare and do not include autism, food allergies or cancer, said a review of scientific literature Tuesday.

A host of vaccines commonly given to children under age six were the focus of the systematic review of rigorously conducted studies, published in the peer-reviewed US journal Pediatrics.

The report seeks to address a rising trend of vaccine hesitancy among parents in the United States and Europe, which has led to a resurgence of measles and whooping cough in some parts of the world.

"We found that serious adverse events that are linked to vaccines are really rare, and that when they do occur they are often not necessarily severe," said study co-author Courtney Gidengil, a pediatrician at Boston Children´s Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.

"We think this adds to the body of evidence that the benefits really do seem to clearly outweigh the low risk of serious side effects from vaccines," she told.

The study expands on a 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine that also pointed to some side effects linked to vaccines but found "few health problems are caused by or clearly associated with vaccines."

The Pediatrics report includes several vaccines that were not studied by the IOM, including those against hepatitis A, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), polio, rotavirus and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Side effects
Side effects of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and pneumococcal vaccines included the potential for fever and seizures.

The MMR and hepatitis A vaccines were also linked to a side effect called purpura, when small blood vessels leak under the skin.

There was some evidence that immune-deficient children given the varicella vaccine against chicken pox could develop infections or have an allergic reaction.

The rotavirus vaccines, RotaTeq and Rotarix, were associated with a risk of intussusception, a condition in which one part of the intestine slides into another part.

However, the risk of this condition was rare, amounting to between 1-5 in 100,000, the researchers said.

"Clinicians who immunize children regularly may have encountered these adverse events in their practices, particularly seizures associated with fever," said an accompanying editorial by Carrie Byington, vice chair for research in the pediatrics department at the University of Utah.

"Fortunately, the adverse events identified by the authors were rare and in most cases would be expected to resolve completely after the acute event."

 

24 low intensity blasts hit Sindh cities

LARKANA: At least 24 low intensity blasts hit different cities of Sindh as Jiye Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) announced a strike for Wednesday against Protection of Pakistan Ordinance and killing of nationalist leader Maqsood Qureshi.

According to reports, hand-grenade explosions took place in Karachi, Hyderabad Larkana and other areas around 7:00 pm in the evening on Tuesday.

Unknown attackers targeted railway tracks in Khurshid Colony and Qasimabad areas of Kotri.

SSP Hyderabad Pir Farid Jan Sarhindi said police and Rangers had arrested 13 activists of a nationalist party after hand grenade attacks in different parts of the city. Unknown attackers also hurled hand grenades on Rangers Headquarters.

Similarly, the attacks were also reported in Nowshero Feroz, Kandyaro and Mehrabpur.

 

Dollar trades at eight month low against rupee

KARACHI: The Dollar further plunged to Rs97.90 in interbank and Rs98.00 in the open market.
On Wednesday, the dollar witnessed Rs2.40 decease in the open market. Dealers said the dollar reached under Rs99 after eight and a half months.
The continued stabilization in the value of rupee will be instrumental in cost of imports and help reduce the price of commodities in the country, said the market analysts.

US jobless claims drop to 3-month low

WASHINGTON: First-time claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week to a three-month low but remained little changed from a year ago, according to official data released Thursday.
Initial jobless claims totaled 323,000 in the week ending March 1, a decline of 26,000 from the prior week's revised reading of 349,000, the Labor Department said.
It was the lowest level of claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, since the last week of November.
The Labor Department cited no particular factor driving the fall in claims, which was larger than analysts expected. The consensus was for claims to fall to 338,000.
The four-week moving average of claims, which helps to smooth week-over-week volatility, fell by 2,000 to 336,500.
A year ago, the moving average was 350,500.
"We need to see more than just one week's data to confirm that the underlying trend in claims remains about flat behind all the weather-induced noise," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.
The claims report came ahead of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report due Friday.
Analysts estimate net job creation picked up to 163,000 in February after a mere 113,000 in January. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 6.6 percent.

China manufacturing growth slows to eight month low: govt

BEIJING: China's manufacturing growth fell to an eight-month low in February, government figures showed on Saturday, reflecting further weakening in the world's second-largest economy but also the effect of a major holiday.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) tumbled to 50.2, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on its website, in the third straight drop from 50.5 in January, 51.0 in December and 51.4 in November.
A figure over 50 indicates expansion while one below shows contraction.
This marked China's 17th consecutive month of manufacturing growth but at a slowing rate -- the lowest since a June reading of 50.1.
China's economic growth has weakened in recent years, hitting 7.7 percent in 2013, the lowest level since 1999. Analysts expect a further drop to 7.5 percent this year.
The lowered forecast comes as Beijing has pledged to reform the country's growth model so that consumers and other private actors play a more significant role, rather than massive and often wasteful state investment.
Whereas in the past authorities have reacted quickly to inject cash to stimulate a slowing economy, recently they have remained tight-fisted instead.
Two liquidity crunches occurred last year in part because officials sought to impose stricter discipline over banks amid burgeoning debt levels.
But the recent Lunar New Year, China's most important holiday, may also have dampened results, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists Ting Lu and Xiaojia Zhi said in a research note.
"We believe the drop was mainly impacted by the Lunar New Year holiday," they wrote, adding that they expected a bounce back up to 50.5 in March.
"Markets will likely respond negatively to the reading but the impact could be limited. Policies are unlikely to be impacted by these distorted PMI readings," they said.
In another closely watched indicator of Chinese manufacturing, British banking giant HSBC said last week its preliminary PMI reading for February dropped to a seven-month low, to 48.3, down from a final figure for January of 49.5.
HSBC is set to release its final PMI reading for February on Monday.