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Dr Sarah Brewer answers questions on MMR
In February 1998 Dr Andrew Wakefield, a Gastroenterologist at London's Royal Free Hospital, suggested that the MMR vaccine could be linked with bowel disorders and a varient form of Autism in children.
This ignited a great debate between medical professionals, the government and parents regarding the safety of the vaccine.
In August 2003, Dr Sarah Brewer, iVillage's medical expert answered members questions and concerns about the multiple vaccine.i_helenax: Does the government admit that there are a small number of kids who are sensitive to autism? If so, their approach seems to me to be completely irresponsible.
Dr Brewer: No medicine is 100% safe for everyone - there is always going to be a small number of individuals who have a rare reaction. The important point is, that however awful a reaction may be for the individual concerned - and their family - the number of people who do have bad reactions is much, much lower than the numbers who have bad reactions to the diseases themselves. I would hope that, with the uptake of MMR falling so low, the government would bow to common sense and make single vaccines available privately to those who prefer to use them - as long as they are aware that their children would not be protected as quickly as they would be if given the MMR as one jab.
clucks: Can you tell us why the government will not supply single jabs on the NHS and how safe and effective they are, anyway.
Dr Brewer: Personally, although I feel that the vaccines should be available privately for those who wish to have them, I think the philosophy behind this is illogical. If someone is going to develop a very rare reaction to one component of the MMR vaccine, surely they will develop that reaction if the vaccines are given separately too?
There is no evidence that the combined MMR is unsafe. All the good quality clinical trials have shown that it is one of the safest vaccines available. Like all medicines, however, it cannot be 100% safe for all people - a few will have a very rare reaction. That risk is much less than the risk of complications from the diseases it is protecting against, however.
frances19682002: If the MMR is such a successful vaccination then why is it necessary for our children to go for a booster? One of the arguments against the single vaccine was that the child would have to be put through three injections instead of one, but at least you didn't need a booster with the singles.
Dr Brewer: The reason the booster was introduced was because up to 10% of children were found not to develop a protective level of antibodies when they received a single MMR. The majority of these go on to develop full protection after the booster dose.
i_helenax: I have read that mercury, used as a preservative, may be the cause of problems with the MMR vaccine. Is it still being used and if so are there any plans to change this?
Dr Brewer: As MMR is a live vaccine, it does not need a preservative, and there is no mercury (in the form of thiomersal) used in its production (see link at end for more info).
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Created: 15/10/2003 Updated: 17/11/2003
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