The general statement, about the importance of developing awareness for reporting possible adverse drug reactions is valid. However, the cited sources documenting the low reporting rate of vaccine adverse events (which are not from Germany) are more than 25 years old (1), a time before the introduction of statutory reporting about any adverse effects potentially resulting from vaccinations. The most recent reports and reporting rates for suspected vaccine adverse effects were unfortunately not cited (2, 3). These works show that the reporting rate has risen gradually since 2001, when legally mandatory reporting of suspected adverse effects or vaccination complications was introduced (2). In 2013, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute reported 3299 suspected cases, with 12 278 adverse reactions (3). No other drug class has such a high rate of physicians reporting as do vaccines, allowing us to conclude that the legal reporting requirement contributes to vaccine safety. Unfortunately, physicians rarely report adverse events for other drugs. These spontaneous reports however are essential for allowing early detection of new signs of risk.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement
Prof Rascher has received funding (third party funding) for commissioned clinical studies and for running an infectious disease epidemiological GLP laboratory by Pfizer Vaccines Research, US, and study funding (third party funding) from Novartis Pharma and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. He was involved as principal investigator in clinical studies sponsored by the companies Alexion, Novartis, and Shire.
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