5 ms·

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) ab

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.

_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.