3 ms·

Have there historically been issues with vaccines causing problems for the long term that didn't show initially? I've never heard of such a thing, but then aga

Have there historically been issues with vaccines causing problems for the long term that didn't show initially? I've never heard of such a thing, but then again I have only a surface understanding of vaccines.

charlesdm 6y ago
I have no idea, that's why I am asking. I'm hoping someone could clarify with decent knowledge on the matter. I vaguely remember this story (from years ago) about a drug or vaccine during the 70s, where apparently everything was fine but then kids (or kids of kids, can't remember) ended up with birth defects.
- _Microft 6y ago
  You might be thinking of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide_scandal The name of the drug was "Contergan" in german which german-speaking readers might recognize more easily.
  - abainbridge 6y ago
    Or Primodos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primodos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primodos). Or Sodium Valproate (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39657139 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39657139). These cases really undermine my confidence in the system.
    - _Microft 6y ago
      Be aware of availability bias here. If a medication did not make it into the news because of problems, we are a lot less likely to have ever heard of it.
      - abainbridge 6y ago
        Agreed. But in the case of Primodos, there were cover-ups with government involvement for decades. The end result was that Matt Hancock apologized. That was it. No holding to account. No fixing the system so it wouldn't happen again. That's what undermines my confidence in the system.
- thu2111 6y ago
  That's Thalidomide which wasn't a vaccine. A more relevant example is Pandemrix, a flu vaccine launched in the EU in 2009. A year later it was discovered that it seems to increase the risk of narcolepsy in teenagers sixfold. The vaccine was produced and licensed in an expedited fashion because of a "pandemic" (of swine flu), which used a then-new and slightly experimental technique (adjuvants) which interestingly, German doctors flagged up as a risk and suggested the German government use a different H1N1 vaccine that was less experimental.
bluGill 6y ago
There have been a few cases. However we think we understand why they happened and so it won't. Anything is possible. If you are a doctor/nurse working in a covid ward we know for sure that the risk whatever happens long term is a lot less than the risk of getting covid. For someone like me who has no reason to go anywhere (I'm not even allowed in the office until this pandemic passes) I can afford to wait until there is more data - and I also have to because I'm low on the list of those who will be vaccinated because I'm relatively low risk of getting it.
adamjb 6y ago
The 1976 Swine Flu outbreak and subsequent bungled vaccination campaign comes to mind
- aphextron 6y ago
  >The 1976 Swine Flu outbreak and subsequent bungled vaccination campaign comes to mind Given that viral genome sequencing didn't even exist in 1976, I don't think it's a meaningful comparison.
howlgarnish 6y ago
Pandemrix causing narcolepsy comes to mind: https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/influenza/pandemic/h1n1_safety_assessing/narcolepsy_statement/en/ https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/influenz...

charlesdm 6y ago

I have no idea, that's why I am asking. I'm hoping someone could clarify with decent knowledge on the matter. I vaguely remember this story (from years ago) about a drug or vaccine during the 70s, where apparently everything was fine but then kids (or kids of kids, can't remember) ended up with birth defects.

_Microft 6y ago
You might be thinking of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide_scandal The name of the drug was "Contergan" in german which german-speaking readers might recognize more easily.
- abainbridge 6y ago
  Or Primodos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primodos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primodos). Or Sodium Valproate (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39657139 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39657139). These cases really undermine my confidence in the system.
  - _Microft 6y ago
    Be aware of availability bias here. If a medication did not make it into the news because of problems, we are a lot less likely to have ever heard of it.
    - abainbridge 6y ago
      Agreed. But in the case of Primodos, there were cover-ups with government involvement for decades. The end result was that Matt Hancock apologized. That was it. No holding to account. No fixing the system so it wouldn't happen again. That's what undermines my confidence in the system.
thu2111 6y ago
That's Thalidomide which wasn't a vaccine. A more relevant example is Pandemrix, a flu vaccine launched in the EU in 2009. A year later it was discovered that it seems to increase the risk of narcolepsy in teenagers sixfold. The vaccine was produced and licensed in an expedited fashion because of a "pandemic" (of swine flu), which used a then-new and slightly experimental technique (adjuvants) which interestingly, German doctors flagged up as a risk and suggested the German government use a different H1N1 vaccine that was less experimental.

bluGill 6y ago

There have been a few cases. However we think we understand why they happened and so it won't. Anything is possible. If you are a doctor/nurse working in a covid ward we know for sure that the risk whatever happens long term is a lot less than the risk of getting covid. For someone like me who has no reason to go anywhere (I'm not even allowed in the office until this pandemic passes) I can afford to wait until there is more data - and I also have to because I'm low on the list of those who will be vaccinated because I'm relatively low risk of getting it.

adamjb 6y ago

The 1976 Swine Flu outbreak and subsequent bungled vaccination campaign comes to mind

aphextron 6y ago
>The 1976 Swine Flu outbreak and subsequent bungled vaccination campaign comes to mind Given that viral genome sequencing didn't even exist in 1976, I don't think it's a meaningful comparison.

howlgarnish 6y ago

Pandemrix causing narcolepsy comes to mind: https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/influenza/pandemic/h1n1_safety_assessing/narcolepsy_statement/en/ https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/committee/topics/influenz...