CDC system tracking vaccine adverse effects is overwhelmed
U.S. childhood vaccination exemptions just reached their highest level ever. as vaccine hesitancy persists past the pandemic.
Concerns are growing over the ability of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) to effectively monitor and track potential side effects from vaccines.
A recent report from the prestigious British Medical Journal has uncovered troubling information about the overwhelmed state of VAERS, raising questions about the program's effectiveness and transparency.
The BMJ's investigation found that reports submitted to VAERS by doctors and a state medical examiner were either not followed up on or completely ignored. This means that potential signals about serious adverse effects could be missed, leaving crucial information out of the public eye. One doctor reported that his serious case report was not reviewed for months, while a state medical examiner's finding of a teenager's death being caused by the COVID vaccine was refuted by the CDC.
Many have concerns that the CDC does not have the necessary staff to handle the unprecedented surge in reports since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Before the pandemic, VAERS received 60,000 reports annually, but since the COVID vaccine rollout, there have been 1.7 million reports. This surge has overwhelmed the system, resulting in delayed reviews and potential missing signals.
What's even more concerning is the fact that the CDC has two VAERS databases: one public and one non-public. The public database only contains initial reports, while the non-public one contains important updates such as recovery or death of the reported individual. This begs the question, why can't VAERS make all of this information accessible to the public like other databases such as the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System?
Understandably, with the number of COVID vaccines being administered, there will be some reported adverse effects.
However, the CDC's handling of these reports has come under scrutiny as other countries have acknowledged deaths to be "likely" or "probably" related to M-R-N-A vaccination with a far smaller number of reports. Additionally, the CDC claims confidentiality concerns prevent them from providing more public information on these reports, leaving the public in the dark.
READ MORE:
RECORD NUMBER OF U.S. CHILDREN EXEMPTED FROM CHILDHOOD VACCINES
ENGLISH LEARNERS STRUGGLE TO CATCH UP IN THE AFTERMATH OF COVID
As the number of COVID vaccines given continues to rise, concerns about the efficacy and transparency of VAERS also persist. In a time when vaccine hesitancy is at an all-time high, this is a concerning issue that must be addressed by the CDC.
U.S. childhood vaccination exemptions have reached their highest level ever, pointing to the growing distrust in the CDC and their Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. It's time for the CDC to take responsibility and make necessary changes to ensure the safety and well-being of all Americans.