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37 Cal. W. L. Rev. 321 (2000-2001)
Ensuring Safe, Effective and Necessary Vaccines for Children

handle is hein.journals/cwlr37 and id is 335 raw text is: COMMENTS ENSURING SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND NECESSARY VACCINES FOR CHILDREN On August 22, 1984 Sean Leary, a healthy nine-month old baby, was administered his third DTP vaccine.' Later that afternoon, Sean began to vomit.2 The next day, he stopped eating? He stayed alert but was no longer active.' That night he cried out every fifteen to thirty minutes.' The following day his mother took him to the pediatrician's office as soon as it opened. The doctor immediately noted the obvious circulation collapse.7 There at the pediatrician's office, Sean's eyes rolled back in his head and he stopped breathing.8 He was rushed to an emergency room.9 Resuscitative efforts failed and Sean was pronounced dead at 1:44 p.m.0 Sean's parents filed a claim under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and the de- fendant hired an expert witness named Dr. Jerome Klein.1 Dr. Klein testified that the relationship between the vaccination on August 22, and Sean's death on August 24, was merely coincidental.'2 In addition to testifying on behalf of vaccine manufacturers, Dr. Klein is also the chief editor of pneumo.com a vaccine website paid for by Wyeth- Lederle.3 Wyeth-Lederle is the largest supplier of DTP in the country and 1. Leary v. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, 1994 WL 43395, at *1 (Fed. Cl. 1994). 2. Id. 3. Id. at *2. 4. Id. 5. Id. 6. Id. 7. Id. 8. Id. 9. Id. 10. Id. 11. A claim was filed by Laurie Leary and John Leary on behalf of Sean Leary, de- ceased, in the United States Court of Federal Claims as required under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Id. at 1. The government declined to concede the case on its pleadings arguing an alternative cause of Sean's death (myocarditis of viral origin). Id. A spe- cial master subsequently found for the petitioners. Id. 12. Id. at *6. Contrary to Dr. Klein's testimony, the court held for the petitioners, the Learys. Id. 13. http://pneumo.comhome.html (last visited October 12,2000).

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