Adverse reactions to vaccines can range from minor and temporary to serious and even fatal results. Although prolonged health conditions are rare, there have been incidents that became harmful following a vaccination.
Here are 10 stories of people harmed by adverse reactions to vaccines:
1. The polio vaccine helped banish the paralyzing disease. However, about 200 people were paralyzed and 10 of them died after the introduction of the vaccine in 1955 during the Cutter incident, named after a vaccine manufacturer. A certain amount of the vaccine contained the virus that had not been inactivated.
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2. Lawsuits accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s when people claimed vaccine injuries from the dipththeria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT) vaccine. The legal actions caused many manufacturers to leave the vaccine business.
3. Thousands of families petitioned the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, claiming that vaccines resulted in their children's autism after 2001. Many claims may have stemmed from a 1997 study, later discredited, that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine might cause autism.
4. The family of a Georgia girl, who was vaccinated at 15 months in 1996, claimed she suffered from severe autism, loss of speech, attention deficit disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome after she was given the DPT vaccine.
5. A Florida boy who suffers from severe autism received the DPT vaccine at two months in 1998. His mother had received injections of a drug containing thimerosal while she was pregnant to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn. Thimerosal has been phased out of childhood vaccines since 2001.
6. Two-month-old Alexis Goudelock died in 2007 within hours after being administered the Hib vaccine to protect against pneumonia and meningitis,
according to the National Vaccine Information Center.
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7. The family of a girl in Georgia reported to the National Vaccine Information Center that their 12-month-old daughter began vomiting after her vaccinations in 2008 and suffered from an inner ear infection. By age 2, she suffered from loss of speech and autism.
8. A North Dakota woman took her 2-month-old son for DPT, polio and Hib vaccinations. He later began high-pitched screaming and was taken to the emergency room, but was told nothing was wrong. For 10 days the boy hardly slept or ate and later died.
9. The Centers for Disease Control reported that the influenza vaccine for 2012 and 2013 was 9 to 56 percent effective and may offer little or no protection for the elderly receiving a particular strain.
10. Since 2000, mumps outbreaks have occurred in the U.S. and other countries where there were populations that had been fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. The ineffectiveness may have been caused by waning vaccine acquired immunity, according to the National Vaccine Information Center.
This article is for information only and is not intended as medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your specific health and medical needs.
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