Vaccines are considered a cornerstone of public health. Many health officials consider vaccination one of the greatest success stories of medicine in the past 100 years. With the phenomenal numbers of autism over the past 15 years, many have now viewed vaccines with caution, anxiety, fear and even anger. The vaccination debate seems often to be an “all in” or “all out” scenario. Many people accept them without any concern, while others choose to not have them at all. What are often times lost in these debates is that the government wants any possible side effects from vaccines reported to the national vaccine database VAERS, or Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. This system was put in place nearly 20 years ago to help the FDA and CDC follow any side effects of vaccines.

VAERS is a database that used to follow any reported side effects of vaccines. Since its inception in 1990, VAERS has received over 123,000 reports of adverse reactions to the various vaccines used. Not all of these reports mean that a serious, irreversible event happened, but a report was done due to some kind of reaction ranging from fever to death. These reports can be filed by a physician or physician’s office, a vaccine manufacturer, through state programs or through the vaccine recipients (or a parent in the case of a child). This program was established to help track any unusual side effects. The program specifically wants events reported such as an allergy reaction that may be a contraindication to a subsequent vaccination. However, any adverse reaction to a vaccine for a child or adult can and should be reported. Side effects of vaccines should be reported so that safety data can be tracked and compared. With much talk of swine and bird flu vaccinations, it is critical to monitor the safety of these vaccines if they are brought to the market. This may help uncover specific side effects that may be preventable. This could also help focus the vaccination away from certain groups or individuals who may be more susceptible to problems from the vaccination.

Unfortunately, it is commonly thought that most adverse events are not reported. Children will now receive nearly 40 vaccinations from the first day of life through age six. Many of these vaccinations are done in a combination shot, and most of the time several shots are given at once. This can make it difficult to know which vaccine caused the problem, which part of the vaccine caused the problem and whether or not it was due to a combination of vaccines and their components. These difficulties make it that much more important to report problems so that this information can be tracked and vaccination can be done with the utmost safety. Data from one person may not help very much, but data from hundreds of thousands of reactions may provide clues on when and how to fine-tune current vaccination programs. Reactions seen as side effects may also be due to a coincidental illness the patient has. Nonetheless, it is still important to report any suspected reactions to a vaccine, and VAERS encourages this.

A form to report adverse reactions can be obtained by calling 1-800-822-7967 to obtain a pre-addressed postage paid report. A report may also be downloaded from the web using the following sites:

The form is fairly straightforward and not terribly lengthy. The physician’s office staff can help with any information such as the lot number of the vaccination that may be needed for the form.

Many physicians are not at all familiar with the method to report an adverse reaction to a vaccine. Even though the process is quite simple, a busy schedule leaves little time to hunt for something that they have not seen or filled out before. That is why it is important for the parent, guardian or patient to take the time to print the report and fill it out as completely as possible. This process will help provide data to increase the safety of the current vaccination program. The current vaccination schedule for children is seeing much crossfire regarding its safety and utility. If we can encourage everyone including doctors, nurses and patients to fill out these forms, we can help commit to a better and more logical use of vaccinations in the future.

If you are interested in viewing reports on the adverse events reported on a certain vaccine to VAERS, a request can be faxed to (301)-443-1726 or mailed to:

Food and Drug Administration
Freedom of Information Staff (HFI-35)
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
(301) 827-6500