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Cause and Effect v Temporal Association

James D. Cherry, MD; W. Donald Shields, MD

Am J Dis Child. 1984;138(10):904-907.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The issue of the benefits and risks of pertussis immunization is an important topic in 1984.^1,2 The two major epidemics of pertussis in the United Kingdom in recent years demonstrate the importance of immunization against pertussis and the relationship between public perception of vaccine risks and the frequency of vaccine use. See also p 908. It would be tragic if we in the United States were to follow the same path as the United Kingdom, overemphasizing the risks of immunization by relying on the uncritical reports in both the lay and medical press.^3-6 Unfortunately, the present report by Murphy et al only adds further uncritically derived information.⁷

The communication by Murphy et al is similar to, but far less complete than, the Meade advisory panel report that was published in 1981.⁸ It is difficult to see how information gathered retrospectively from the sources indicated could yield . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Pediatrics, UCLA School of Medicine.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to UCLA School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Room 22-442 MDCC, Los Angeles, CA 90024 (Dr Cherry).

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