Vaccine shock: Jabs fail to work in one in 10 children, experts reveal – millions could be ‘low-responders’ and not realise
One in 10 children may be left unprotected by childhood vaccines—leaving them unknowingly vulnerable to a raft of deadly disease, a top expert has warned.
Child health specialist Dr Michael Pichichero claims his team have discovered a common, yet previously unknown immune system problem is to blame.
It means certain youngsters fail to produce protective levels of immune cells called antibodies, which are needed to fight off infections.
Worryingly, in these children, levels remain low even after booster shots, the researchers found.
Dr Pichichero and his colleagues have previously warned their research indicates children with ‘suboptimal vaccine response’ are not protected by the shots.
‘They are probably protected from infection by herd immunity,’ they added.
‘[But in countries where] parental refusal of vaccines has increased, herd immunity may become threatened, which could have serious consequences.’
Herd immunity occurs when the majority of a population develops immunity against a contagious disease either through vaccination or due to a previous infection.
One in 10 children may be left unprotected by childhood vaccines—leaving them unknowingly vulnerable to a raft of deadly disease, a top expert has warned
Recent NHS data show vaccination rates are falling across England — amid outbreaks of measles and whooping cough, which as claimed the lives of nine babies
This significantly reduces the likeliness of disease transmission from one person to another.
Vaccination programmes have led to the eradication in developed countries of a number of deadly diseases that once killed and maimed thousands of children every year.
These include measles, smallpox and polio.
Dr Pichichero’s warning will add to concerns that have been raised in recent years about falling vaccination rates.
Recent NHS data show vaccination rates are falling across England — amid outbreaks of measles and whooping cough, which as claimed the lives of nine babies.
Overall, coverage decreased with none of the 14 childhood vaccines meeting the 95 per cent target, the figures published in September show.
However, there were vast difference between regions. The North East fared best with measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine rates hitting almost 90 per cent.
London had the lowest uptake, at 73 per cent — and previous research suggestion in some boroughs rates are as low as 60 per cent, putting thousands of children at risk.
Last year more than 2,000 measles cases were recorded in England—the biggest outbreak in over a decade—with one child reported to have died from the disease
A similar picture has been seen in the US, where a measles outbreak has claimed two lives.
Last week, an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico became the second fatality due to the infection, it was reported.
It came days after measles took the live of an unvaccinated child in neighbouring Texas.
Measles, which was considered “eliminated” in the US in 2000, is spreading quickly in Texas, with the state identifying 198 cases as of last week, nearly 30 more since the state’s last report on Tuesday.
In the same span the number of cases in New Mexico tripled, to 30.
Last year more than 2,000 measles cases were recorded in England—the biggest outbreak in over a decade—with one child reported to have died from the disease.
To test their hypothesis, that some children are ‘low vaccine responders’, or LVR, Dr Pichichero and his team tested 499 infants for antibody levels after multiple routine vaccines.
‘Surprisingly, we found that 11 per cent were what we termed “low responders” because the children developed subprotective antibody levels to at least four of six vaccine antigens [including] diptheria, tetanus, pertussis [whooping cough] and Haemophilus influenzae type b [Hib].’
Response rates to polio, hepititis B and pneumonia vaccines were even lower in this group, with 50 per cent found to be low responders.
The reason for this phenomenon isn’t fully understood however white children were more likely to be affected than other ethnicities, Dr Pichichero added.
Intriguingly, ‘suboptimal vaccine response’ was also twice as common in those who had been frequently given antibiotics for throat and ear infections, although it wasn’t clear why.
The children were found to have problems producing a range of immune system cells in response to vaccines.
‘We plan to study [low vaccine responders] further, to identify methods to improve less protective vaccines and/or to develop tailored vaccines for LVR children,’ Dr Pichichero and his colleagues previously promised.
