Page 84 - Spring2020
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From the          Regrettably, children are developing  to cause the disease it is meant to prevent. The
             outset, the      shingles from the chickenpox vaccine itself—as  CDC admits as much, stating that, rarely, “live
                              proven by molecular analysis. A 2009 study  shingles vaccines can cause rash or shingles.”
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               Zostavax  titled “The incidence and clinical characteristics  In 2014, the FDA required that Merck add a
                 shingles     of herpes zoster among children and adolescents  warning about the potential for vaccine-strain
                 vaccine      after implementation of varicella vaccination,”  infection to the list of side effects associated
                              published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease  with its shingles vaccine.
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               has been  Journal, reported that the incidence of shingles   From the outset, Zostavax has been plagued
             plagued by       jumped by 63 percent among young people ten  by questions about its safety. A 2015 study in
               questions      to nineteen years of age in the U.S. from 2000  the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology described
                                                                       a significantly increased risk of developing two
                              to 2006.  Reluctant to blame chickenpox vac-
                                     27
                about its  cination, the researchers stated only that this  autoimmune conditions—alopecia (hair loss)
                   safety.    increase “could not be confidently explained”  and arthritis—in those who had received the
                              and continued to advocate the vaccine’s “wide-  shingles vaccine.  Although vaccinated seniors
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                              spread use.”  North Carolina researchers who  were more than twice as likely to subsequently
                                        27
                              reviewed roughly two dozen published cases of  develop the two conditions, the authors dis-
                              vaccine-strain shingles in children and adoles-  missed the adverse outcomes’ importance as
                              cents found that the average age of infection was  being non-life-threatening and pronounced the
                              5.3 years, with infection occurring, on average,  vaccine “relatively safe.”
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                              about three years after chickenpox vaccination. 28  Other researchers disagree, however. In a
                                 In 2011, researchers examined laboratory  2013 letter published in the New England Jour-
                              characteristics of fourteen suspected shingles  nal of Medicine, a Bethesda, Maryland, geriatric
                              cases in varicella-vaccinated children—includ-  expert cited a statistically significant 36 percent
                              ing three children who had experienced natural  increase in the rate of serious adverse events
                              chickenpox in infancy before receiving their  associated with shingles vaccination in persons
                              vaccines; the researchers concluded that a third  sixty years of age or older and pronounced the
                              of the confirmed shingles cases “were due to  vaccine’s safety “questionable.”  Despite these
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                              vaccine-type virus.” 30                  concerns, Merck distributed in excess of thirty-
                                 The incidence of shingles is also on the rise  six million doses of Zostavax from 2006 to 2017,
                              in the adult population. A 2005 Massachusetts  earning an average of six hundred eighty-five
                              study that examined chickenpox and shingles  million dollars annually—and seven hundred
                              incidence “during a period of increasing vari-  forty-nine million dollars in 2017 alone.
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                              cella vaccine coverage” (1999-2003) determined   In his New England Journal of Medicine
                              that shingles incidence increased by 90 percent  letter, the geriatric expert also observed that
                              across all age groups—but it rose by a whop-  the shingles vaccine’s efficacy has been vastly
                              ping 161 percent in persons aged twenty-five to  overstated.  In fact, as NVIC summarizes, ef-
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                              forty-four.                              ficacy studies have found a significant decrease
                                      29
                                                                       in the vaccine’s effectiveness just one year post-
                              NEW PROBLEMS=NEW VACCINES                vaccination, “and by nine years, Zostavax was
                                 In 2006, in response to the burgeoning  determined to be no longer effective at prevent-
                              shingles epidemic, Merck (the same manufac-  ing shingles.”  Its own package insert states,
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                              turer that produces the chickenpox and MMR  “The duration of protection beyond 4 years
                              II vaccines) launched the first shingles vaccine,  after vaccination with Zostavax is unknown.” 37
                              Zostavax. Like the chickenpox vaccine, Zos-  Merck has faced (and continues to face) a
                              tavax is a live-attenuated vaccine, meaning it  multitude of lawsuits pertaining to Zostavax,
                              too contains a weakened form of the varicella-  with autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular
                              zoster virus. The vaccine’s other ingredients  issues, congestive heart failure, hearing loss,
                              are similar to those in the company’s varicella  brain inflammation, necrotizing retinitis, spinal
                              vaccines (see sidebar).  Because Zostavax is a  cord inflammation, stroke, vasculitis, death
                                                 7
                              live-attenuated vaccine, it also has the potential  and shingles all associated with the vaccine.
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