Well I got to the relevant part of it... some interesting things... did you know the Mumps strand in the current vax is from a guy named Jeryl Lynn Hilleman, isolated from his throat in the 1960s?
and this is very interesing:
Quote:
Prior to the licensure of a measles vaccine, an average of 400,000 measles cases were reported each year, although the actual incidence was estimated to be 3.5 million based on the size of the annual birth cohort and, the fact that nearly 100 percent of the population was infected during childhood (CDC 1998). [Pg. 104] http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13164&page=104
So that pretty much plummets the fatality rate... 400,000 reported cases is consistent with this:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/cases&deaths.pdf
which puts the deaths at 300-600/year... (and it is commonly accepted around here that death would be the most likely of all outcomes to be reported, albeit usually that is pointed out when speaking of vax reactions)
anyway, IMO says this about arthritis from Rubella vax (no one actually says anything about MMR II)
Epidemiologic Evidence -
5 studies, one with methodological limitations so not included... others had other issues, so the one they cared about the most was this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9142061
Randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study on adverse effects of rubella immunisation in seronegative women.
Quote:
Results indicated a significantly higher incidence (p = 0.006; odds ratio = 1.73 [95% CI = 1.17-2.57]) of acute joint manifestations in rubella-vaccine recipients (30%) than in placebo recipients (20%). Frequency of chronic (recurrent) arthralgia or arthritis was only marginally significant (p = 0.042; 1.58 [1.01-2.45]).
INTERPRETATION:
RA27/3 rubella vaccine given to seronegative women during the postpartum period was significantly associated with development of acute arthralgia or arthritis. Although the numbers of women assessed and length of follow-up revealed only marginally significant differences in persistent or recurrent joint manifestations between rubella vaccine and placebo recipients, it is possible that susceptible women who are given rubella vaccination may experience this outcome.
Mechanistic Evidence -
16 studies...(measles & rubella or just rubella vax)... 4 they gave the most consideration:
Quote:
Logistic regression modelling of DR, treatment, age, time postpartum, and arthropathy revealed that the odds of developing arthropathy was 1.9 times greater (95% CI, 1.07-3.44) after rubella vaccine than placebo.
Risk for arthropathy (regardless of rubella vaccination) was also influenced by DR interactions: odds were 8 times greater in individuals with both DR1 and DR4 (95% CI, 1.45-44.02) and 7.1 times greater with both DR4 and DR6 present (95% CI, 1.85-27.52), suggesting that coexpression of these specificities may predispose to postpartum arthropathy.
Quote:
Arthropathy following RA27/3 rubella vaccination may be higher in women who have very low prevaccine levels of antibody, particularly in assays measuring functional (neutralizing) antibodies.
Quote:
A prospective study was carried out to correlate the development of joint symptoms after rubella immunization with pre- and post-immunization rubella-specific immunological responses. Arthralgia or arthritis or both occurred in 10 of 37 adult female volunteers at a mean time of 17.0 days after immunization with the RA 27/3 rubella vaccine.
....So that doesn't differ too greatly from Merck's statement... sounds like "some evidence" is a great downplay, but I can understand why, technically they did find some (any amount is "some"), and found a bunch of other studies they considered to have problems too.
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