MMR banned in Japan?

[newmum35]

anyone know anything about the MMR being banned in Japan?

Came across this article and wondered if the ban was in effect right now, or in the past and if in the past, what years was the ban in effect?


http://search.japantimes.co.jp/membe...20030314a7.htm

Families win lawsuit over MMR vaccine

OSAKA (Kyodo) The government and a research center affiliated with Osaka University were handed a court order Thursday to pay a total of 155 million yen to the families of two children who died or suffered side effects after receiving the MMR vaccine.

The vaccine, which covers measles, mumps and rubella, has since been banned because of its high side effects rate.

I have the current European vaccination schedules but of course it doesnt list Japan, so if anyone else knows how to find it let me know

http://www.euvac.net/graphics/euvac/...ccination.html

[Harmony08]

I gave it a google. It seems like it is still banned. They banned it in 1993. A lot of articles pop up about how autism rates continue to rise in Japan despite the ban on MMR. They didn't ban it because of autism. There were lots of other kinds of damages. I wish people would get over the mmr issue and focus on the the effects of the vaccine program as a whole. Alas.

[bbrandonsmom]

http://idsc.nih.go.jp/vaccine/dschedule/ImmEN-05rev.pdf

The 2005 Japan schedule.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

http://idsc.nih.go.jp/vaccine/dschedule/ImmEN-05rev.pdf

The 2005 Japan schedule.

no mmr, but they seem to do a single rubella and measles vax though

[thtr4me]

Originally Posted by Marnica

no mmr, but they seem to do a single rubella and measles vax though

Nice to see that Japan has the single vaxes available. For those parents looking for individual vaxes, I wonder if there is a way to get them here.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by thtr4me

Nice to see that Japan has the single vaxes available. For those parents looking for individual vaxes, I wonder if there is a way to get them here.

There may be stockpiles of single vaxes, but since the only manufacturer of the single vaxes (Merck) stopped making them, once the old stockpiles run out, there will be none to get. I suppose one could try and import them from another country, but I would think getting that through customs would be difficult.

[claddaghmom]

thanks

[nia82]

I don't have a link or anything, but I was told Japan's rubella manufacturer is a different one than Merck. I know for a fact that a couple Catholics who don't want Merck's rubella for the fetal cell issue have been trying to get FDA approval for the Japanese vaccine with little success. I think it's cultured in rabbit or monkey cells instead of fetal cells. So I guess it's not Merck who makes those single vaccines.... A little googling might shed light on the issue...

Edit: found the name: Takahashi rubella vaccine.

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by Harmony08

I gave it a google. It seems like it is still banned. They banned it in 1993. A lot of articles pop up about how autism rates continue to rise in Japan despite the ban on MMR. They didn't ban it because of autism. There were lots of other kinds of damages. I wish people would get over the mmr issue and focus on the the effects of the vaccine program as a whole. Alas.

Wow - that was ages ago. Very interesting. I also googled it (after your suggestion) Well, I no longer google, I use http://www.startpage.com/ but I found Mercola's page on it (which was just a reprint of many of the same news stories that appeared elsewhere too) - old page from 2001 but, just wow.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ban-japan.aspx

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

http://idsc.nih.go.jp/vaccine/dschedule/ImmEN-05rev.pdf

The 2005 Japan schedule.

Thanks!! I have saved that and printed it out. I am always amazed at how other countries do it differently. Their schedule is not quite as crowded as ours is it.

[treemom2]

This is what I found:

Japan
3 months: Polio, BCG
6–9 months: DTaP (x3)
9 months–1 year: Polio
1 year: measles, rubella
18 months: DTaP
3–5 years: Japanese encephalitis (x3)
6.5 years: BCG
9 years: Japanese encephalitis
11 years: DT
12.5 years: BCG
14 years: Japanese encephalitis
optional yearly: influenza
optional: variella (chicken pox),
mumps, Hepatitis B

When I put my DD in school, the only vax they really were worried about her not having (she's not vaxed) was the BCG.

[belltree]

So far they vax Measles, Mumps and Rubella separately. However, the current vaccination schedule is considered outdated by many health care professionals in Japan and the pressure is on for an more up to date schedule.

I am just saying what I was told by Japanese relatives, who work as doctors in Japan.

[newmum35]

Originally Posted by treemom2

This is what I found:

Japan
3 months: Polio, BCG
6–9 months: DTaP (x3)
9 months–1 year: Polio
1 year: measles, rubella
18 months: DTaP
3–5 years: Japanese encephalitis (x3)
6.5 years: BCG
9 years: Japanese encephalitis
11 years: DT
12.5 years: BCG
14 years: Japanese encephalitis
optional yearly: influenza
optional: variella (chicken pox),
mumps, Hepatitis B

When I put my DD in school, the only vax they really were worried about her not having (she's not vaxed) was the BCG.

What is the BCG? I'm only familiar with the US schedule. We do not have japanese encephalitis shots, or BCG.

So basically they DO vaccinate for 2 parts of the mmr - they only don't do the MUMPS but they DO the measles AND rubella. That's interesting that we don't hear about mumps outbreaks and complications occuring in Japan. (*sarcasm) I imagine it goes around there as it used to in years past? Apparently the authorities aren't worried about it, but as another poster said, perhaps this is what the drs were thinking when they said the schedule was outdated. Still find that rather interesting that if it were some real common complications there would have been an uproar that other countries mandated it (on the schedule) and japan didn't. Are parents complaining about it, or merely the drs? Obviously it hasn't bothered anyone enough since 1993 to do anything about it, that's pretty telling in itself.

[treemom2]

Originally Posted by newmum35

What is the BCG? I'm only familiar with the US schedule. We do not have japanese encephalitis shots, or BCG.

So basically they DO vaccinate for 2 parts of the mmr - they only don't do the MUMPS but they DO the measles AND rubella. That's interesting that we don't hear about mumps outbreaks and complications occuring in Japan. (*sarcasm) I imagine it goes around there as it used to in years past? Apparently the authorities aren't worried about it, but as another poster said, perhaps this is what the drs were thinking when they said the schedule was outdated. Still find that rather interesting that if it were some real common complications there would have been an uproar that other countries mandated it (on the schedule) and japan didn't. Are parents complaining about it, or merely the drs? Obviously it hasn't bothered anyone enough since 1993 to do anything about it, that's pretty telling in itself.

BCG is the vaccine for TB and like I said in my pp it was the only vax the Japanese school system concentrated on with my DD. About the mumps, well, 2 years ago we thought our DD had mumps. We took her to the doctor and he didn't make a big deal out of it. He just gave her some drugs (they give drugs--antibiotics for EVERYTHING, everytime you go to the doc here) and said she'd be fine.

[belltree]

treemom2, mumps is only voluntary for girls as far as I know in Japan.

[Juvysen]

I thought I read something about the SIDS rates dropping when Japan pushed back vaccines? Wait, prolly not the MMR, though...