A STUDY WHICH is being presented in Dublin today has found that there’s no difference in mortality rates related to the last type of vaccination offered between boys and girls.
Almost all Dutch children were studied across more than a decade from 2000-2011.
There have been reports in developing countries of vaccines having non-specific effects on mortality, different for boys and girls and depending on type and sequence of the vaccinations.
The authors believe the results of the study should ensure confidence in vaccination in developed countries.
It found that in terms of mortality differences between boys and girls, there are no changes observed relating to the type of last vaccination offered.
The study is being presented at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases in Dublin.
It was carried out by epidemiologist Tessa Schurink-van ‘t Klooster and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
Schurink-van ‘t Klooster said “We investigated whether there were indications for differences in gender-specific mortality among children with respect to the ages of last offered vaccination in the Netherlands, where childhood vaccination coverage is high, ranging from 92-96 per cent.”
No changes in the difference in mortality between girls and boys related to the type of last offered vaccine were observed.
“The findings of this large population-based study are reassuring for continued trust in the safety of the national immunisation programme in high-income countries.
“However, ongoing evaluation of potential non-specific effects of vaccination on mortality and morbidity is needed to provide accurate information of the benefits and risks of vaccination.”
The study assessed all Dutch children from 0-11 years of age from 2000 until 2011, covering more than 6 million children.
During the study 21,361 children died due to natural causes.
The mortality rate was higher for boys than for girls, irrespective of the type of vaccine last offered.
No statistically significant changes were observed in the female-male mortality difference between the different types of last offered vaccines.
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