[shlant]

you should really re-evaluate your ability to determine what is reliable and factual information if you are sharing that link. Blows my mind that so many people who point to VAERS as evidence still have no understanding whatsoever of what VAERS is.

[briandon]

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is jointly-run by the US FDA and CDC established by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (the same legislation that transferred liability for vaccine injuries from drug manufacturers to US taxpayers through federal funding of vaccine injury compensation) and is one of a handful of tools for monitoring vaccine safety.

The greatest concern with regards to VAERS has been underreporting. A HHS-commissioned study (PDF available here: https://digital.ahrq.gov/ahrq-funded-projects/electronic-sup...) found, about a decade ago, that "Adverse events from drugs and vaccines are common, but underreported. Although 25% of ambulatory patients experience an adverse drug event, less than 0.3% of all adverse drug events and 1-13% of serious events are reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Likewise, fewer than 1% of vaccine adverse events are reported. Low reporting rates preclude or slow the identification of 'problem' drugs and vaccines that endanger public health. New surveillance methods for drug and vaccine adverse effects are needed."

So, no, VAERS is not some conspiracy theory website and was created at the same time that vaccine manufacturers were relieved of legal liability for injuries and deaths caused by their products. It's a government-run system for identifying vaccine safety signals that, if anything, suffers from underreporting. Any entity or any individual seeking to discredit VAERS with nebulous handwavery in the absence of a workable, running alternative is engaging in extremely dubious, vaccine-safety denialism.

[DiogenesKynikos]

> VAERS is not some conspiracy theory website

Of course it isn't. However, it is raw data, and it takes careful analysis to separate the signal from the noise.

Most of the reported events are not caused by vaccines. VAERS is meant to be used as a tool for identifying possible rare vaccine side-effects. If a pattern emerges in VAERS reports, then there is further study.

As the FDA explains,[0]

> VAERS reports generally cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. Some events may occur coincidentally after the administration of a vaccine while others may in fact be caused by a vaccine. As a result, if a safety signal is found in VAERS, further studies can be conducted in safety systems such as the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), or the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project. These systems do not have the same limitations as VAERS and can better assess health risks and possible connections between adverse events and a vaccine.

0. https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccine-adverse...

[headsoup]

If you read what I linked above, this is specifically what the CDC is failing at (the CDC is responsible for reviewing adverse events).

[headsoup]

What is your point? I don't think you read what I linked at all.