Jane M. Orient, M.D.
Executive Director
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.
1601 N. Tucson Boulevard, Suite 9
Tucson, Arizona 85716-3450

Dear Dr. Orient:

Thank you for your continued interest in vaccines. Our primary commitment at the National Immunization Program is to ensure the safest and most effective vaccines. We incorporate a wide range of activities to inform parents about the benefits and risks of childhood immunization. These include:

Much about vaccine safety can be found on our web site. Further, all recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that are accepted by the CDC are published in our Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR). These can be accessed on our web site at http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr. I am confident that you will find the reference section in each of these quite thorough and accurate.

You can also access information about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System from our Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vaers.htm. For more information on the program, I also suggest you go to the FDA's site at http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaers/vaers.htm. Along with details about the program, this site also provides a list of current consumer and professional articles about vaccines and vaccine safety. You can then follow their links to other sites providing valuable information on vaccine safety, such as the American Academy of Pediatric' s Immunization Information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborates with a wide range of organizations to ensure the safety and effectiveness of all vaccines. This collaboration helps ensure our country has sound immunization and safe vaccines. I suggest you contact any of the following organizations for additional information on vaccines and vaccine safety. They all have web sites, and will be able to give you more information from a variety of perspectives.

America Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Association of Health Plans
American Medical Association
Every Child By Two
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies
Hepatitis Foundation International
Informed Parents Against VAPP
National Coalition for Adult Immunization
National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services
National Medical Association
Partnership for Prevention
Rotary International
UNICEF
World Health Organization, Global Programme on Vaccines

I appreciate your continued interest in vaccine safety, and hope this information helps answer your questions on this most important public health issue.

Sincerely,

Walter A. Orenstein, M.D.
Assistant Surgeon General
Director
National Immunization Program

Read Original Letter from AAPS