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."

 

John Kerry says U.S. war on Iraq was serious mistake

BEIJING: US Secretary of State John Kerry admitted that the Iraq war was a serious mistake for which the sufferings continued even today, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

In an interview to Chinese news agency, US Secretary of State, John Kerry said he had termed this decision of former President George Bush going for war on Iraq a grave mistake.

Even today, the region's many problems are caused by the Iraq war, the U.S. is trying to address, citing example of President Obama’s pulling out the troops from Iraq, he said.

The statement of the US Secretary of State has come at a time when Iraq has already suffered an irreparable loss and the country is bleeding in a civil war.

Taliban ready to continue talks Prof Ibrahim says they are serious

 

PESHAWAR/KHANPUR: A member of the Taliban negotiations team, Professor Ibrahim, has said the statement given by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was extraordinary but the Taliban are ready to continue peace talks even in the prevailing situation.
“We are serious people and we are holding talks with all seriousness. The statement of Chaudhry Nisar is extraordinary but we are ready to continue the talks process in the prevailing situation as well,” Prof Ibrahim said in his media interviews on Saturday.

“There are certain hiccups on the way to talks but we believe these will be removed soon. We have already said we are facing difficulties in the talks process, but the Taliban negotiations team was sincere in holding talks,” he said.

About the disbandment of the government negotiations team, he said the powers of the government negotiations team rested with the government. “Earlier a committee was formed and was abolished later but the Taliban committee will continue to make sure that talks bear fruit in this situation too,” he said.

He said that the timing and venue for the next meeting has not been finalised. Prof Ibrahim said contacts with the Taliban leadership are under way.

It may be recalled that interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said earlier in his statement that the government could not continue the talks process with the Taliban in the present situation.

PM takes serious notice of incidents of children’s death in Thar

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has taken serious notice of the incidents of death of children in Thar, Sindh.

The Prime Minister directed National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to immediately get in touch with authorities in Sindh and provide all possible aid and assistance.