Japan: Gov't suspends administering 2 vaccines , initial investigation finds no link to the deaths of 4 children

[Ronan Kelly]

Gov't suspends administering 2 vaccines after 4 children die
Saturday 05th March, 06:08 AM JST

TOKYO ?
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare decided Friday to suspend administering two types of publicly subsidized vaccines as four children recently died after receiving them, notifying municipal governments of the decision, ministry sources said.

The two types are the Hib vaccine to prevent bacterial meningitis and a vaccine to protect against streptococcus pneumoniae.

There have been no reports so far from the doctors who treated the children establishing the causal relationship between the vaccines and their deaths, according to the ministry.
...

http://www.japantoday.com/category/...ring-2-types-of-vaccines-after-4-children-die

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Japan: Gov't suspends administering 2 vaccines , deaths of 4 children under investigation

Re: Japan: Gov't suspends administering 2 vaccines , deaths of 4 children under investigation

Initial Japanese Probe of 4 Child Deaths Finds No Link to Vaccines
By Matthew Heller on March 9, 2011

A preliminary investigation has found no evidence directly linking the deaths of four children in Japan with the vaccines the young victims received shortly before they succumbed. But Reuters reports that Japan?s health ministry will continue its suspension on the use of the two vaccines, which are used to prevent meningitis and pneumonia.

The four children, all under two years old, died last week shortly after they were vaccinated with Sanofi?s ActHIB, Pfizer?s Prevenar or both. The health ministry responded by imposing its suspension and launching an investigation into the immunizations.

Sanofi and Pfizer have stood behind their vaccines and some experts have suggested the ministry overreacted. The suspension ?was the wrong thing to do,? Paul Offit, a researcher at Children?s Hospital in Philadelphia, told Forbes.com.

...

http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/03/...-of-4-child-deaths-finds-no-link-to-vaccines/