“We are confident in the assessments that go on around vaccines,“ WHO vaccine chief Kate O'Brien told journalists in Geneva.
O'Brien was asked about a Washington Post report Thursday indicating that US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to shift the way vaccines are tested, requiring all new vaccines to undergo placebo testing.
O’Brien stressed that the “gold standard” process for vaccine development already calls for placebo testing when developing completely new vaccines against diseases for which no immunisation options exist.
In such cases, it could be unethical to give test subjects a placebo -- an inert product that does not prevent disease -- instead of “vaccines that are life-saving that are already licensed”, she said.
“It’s very important that we not constrain the ability and opportunity to develop better vaccines... The goal is to continue to develop improved vaccines.”
Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic who has long promoted disproven theories linking childhood vaccines to autism, has also in recent days reportedly made false claims that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine contains “aborted fetus debris”.
She urged people with power and influence to help boost confidence in the safety, efficacy and importance of vaccines, which have saved more than 150 million lives in the past five decades, according to the WHO.
“It really is the trust of communities, of people in communities, that forms the impact of vaccines,“ she said.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( WHO defends vaccine safety test standards )
Also on site :