Editor's Note
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TweetI’d like to add a caveat to Keri Eggleston’s letter to the editor this week. While I agree that parents should consider some of the facts she cites when making vaccination decisions for their children, the statistics she cites from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) do come with a disclaimer that it is important for readers to understand. VAERS, co-managed by the Centers for Disease Control, was set up as an early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S. licensed vaccines, according to its website. It offers this disclaimer:
“While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This creates specific limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind.”
On another note, Saturday’s chess tournament fundraiser was a success and attracted 12 players to the public library. We raised more than $300 for the Haines Long Term Recovery Group. Thanks to all those who attended and the library for giving us the space to play. I’d especially like to thank the local businesses that generously contributed prizes to the participants including The Bookstore, Haines Brewing Company, Haines Packing, Port Chilkoot Distillery, Ampersand AK, Bamboo Room and Alaska Sport Shop.
Kyle Clayton
