VACCINE SAFETY CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

Tuesday, August 3, 1999

RISK VS BENEFITS OF VACCINATIONS

TESTIMONY Presented to Government Reform Committee by THELMA KING THIEL
Chairman and CEO, Hepatitis Foundation International

I am Thelma King Thiel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Hepatitis Foundation International, serving as a volunteer. I am also a mother who lost an infant son 29 years ago to a rare and fatal liver disease. My purpose in being here today is to provide you with some valuable information to help you understand why children, and especially adolescents, need to be vaccinated against hepatitis B. Those of us who know that hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than AIDS and that young adults are the most vulnerable and most frequently infected age group need your help to stop the spread of this disease. Hepatitis B is an 'insidious disease that has been, and continues to be, kept in the closet. Like the children with AEDS who were shunned and ostracized several years ago, children with hepatitis B are being treated like they have the plague. What most people do not know is that one teaspoon of blood contains only 5-10 particles of the AID virus compared to 500 million particles of the hepatitis B virus.

People are fearful of catching this disease that they can't see, or feel and know little about except that people turn yellow when they have it, which incidentally, is a misnomer. Most people do not become jaundiced, nor do they have any signs that they are infected. Parents are reluctant to tell anyone that their child is infected, protecting them from the heartache of being shunned by their friends. Tragically, this silence creates an uncontrollable risk to their classmates who may come into personal contact with these infected children.

Following the introduction of the hepatitis B vaccine, the recommendation that individuals at high risk of being infected be vaccinated was a abysmal failure and the incidence of hepatitis B continued to rise. To bring hepatitis B under control, the CDC in November 1991 recommended that all infants be immunized against hepatitis B and subsequently recommended that teenagers also be vaccinated. Young adults account for 75% of hepatitis B infections a disease that is 100 times more infectious than AIDS. This disease is easily transmitted through intimate contact with infected blood and body fluids, primarily through sexual contact.

There are over 1.2 million carriers of hepatitis B in the US, many of whom are unaware of their infection. In the majority of cases there are no signs or symptoms until the liver damage is far advanced. Our children need to be protected and yet they do not have a voice in this decision. We, as their guardians and protectors, understand the serious nature of hepatitis B and know the risks they face. We have little control over their activities as they grow up and become more independent. However, we can protect them from becoming infected with hepatitis B by requiring this safe and effective vaccine be given to all 11 and 12 year olds providing protection for 12 years and possibly a lifetime according to the CDC.

For those who become chronically infected, the only approved treatment available is chemotherapy with only a 40% success rate in putting this disease into remission. What happens if the treatment fails? The disease will continue to attack the liver causing cirrhosis and cancer of the liver with a drastically reduced life expectancy. They will also remain infectious to others, passing the disease on through contact with their infected blood and body fluids. A liver transplant is not a viable option because the virus remains in the system and attacks the transplanted liver with a vengeance.

Donor livers are in short supply and the costs related to having a liver transplant continue for a lifetime. Daily medications needed to prevent rejection of the organ cost about $20,000 a year, and monthly treatments required to keep the virus at bay cost $10,000 each, adding another $120,000 a year to be continued for a lifetime. Added to the expense of a liver transplant at an average $250,000, the costs related to treating one patient with end stage liver disease could provide vaccine for thousands of children and prevent a lifetime of uncertainty for those who are infected.

The many years of tedious scientific research that have gone into making a safe and effective vaccine are being challenged by a group of untrained, non-medical individuals with unsubstantiated reports about adverse events that they attribute to the vaccine. They ignore the fact that millions of lives worldwide have been saved through immunizing newborns and infants against this insidious disease.

We ask you to ensure that Texas makes a strong statement regarding protecting the health of our young people and a firm commitment to bringing this insidious disease under control. Those of us who are well informed about the serious nature of viral hepatitis have an obligation to protect our children who can be innocent victims of this disease.