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The Process of Public Policy Formulation: The Case of Thimerosal in Vaccines is a Journal article written by Freed et al. The article discusses the emergence of Thimerosal as a concern in vaccination programs in the US. Successful immunization programs have significantly reduced cases of vaccine-preventable ailments. Thus, the article states that there is a diminished awareness in the society about the actual risks linked to the diseases and a superior prominence of the latent hazards of adverse effects connected with the vaccines (Freed et al., 2002, p.1).
The article describes Thimerosal as a compound made of mercury- that has been extensively utilized for over six decades as an antimicrobial vaccine. The mercury present in the vaccine poses a serious health concern when exposed to humans (Karsen et al., 2007, p.1). For instance, the article reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered in 1999 that when the vaccine was administered to children, the exposure to the mercury component surpassed the current mercury exposure threshold set by FDA. Following this revelation, the medical and public and health institutions in the US initiated a number of urgent discourses to establish an apt solution to the issue. This article thus illustrates and evaluates the procedure that resulted in the July 7, 1999 statement made by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the US Public Health Service (PHS) about thimerosal vaccine with the aim of making recommendations on how to manage comparable vaccine safety issues in the future (Freed et al., 2002, p.3).
This article uses both primary and secondary data. For example, the primary data used was derived from structured interviews of over 16 persons that took part in the discourse and concessions that led to the declaration made by both PHS and AAP on the use of the thimerosal vaccine. The participants in the study were derived from government agencies and non-governmental institutions including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the AAP, the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Participants were interviewed from January to April 2001 via telephone contact and face-to-face meetings (Freed et al., 2002, p.5). One of the main aims of the study was to assess the likely adverse effects of thimerosal when exposed to humans. The CBER discovered that- using FDA and industry internal data- thimerosal was a major component in over 35 certified vaccines in the US. The level of mercury by weight available in these vaccines was computed. The CBER then consulted the proposed childhood schedule to establish the acceptable amount of mercury that children could be exposed to (Freed et al., 2002, p.8).
The article reports that the study faced a number of limitations. For example, the researchers were unable to interview all parties that were involved in this process. As a result, there is a chance that not all information was captured. Moreover, these interviews were done almost 24 months after this process was completed. This implies that the information obtained via the interview method was affected by recall bias (p.9). The report makes a number of recommendations. For instance, it proposes that in cases where swift decisions must be made about an immunization policy, all parties engaged in the discussion must evaluate both the short-term and the long-term planned and unplanned outcomes of their recommended actions. The nature of the evaluation method used should be formal and well structured to achieve desired results (Freed et al., 2002, p.14).
Reference
Freed, G.L., Andreae, M.C., Cowan. A.E., et al. (2002). The process of public policy formulation: the case of thimerosal in vaccines. Paediatrics, 109(6), 153- 1159. Web.
Karsen, H., Akdeniz, H., Karahocagil, M. K., et al. (2007). Case Report: Apparent vaccine-thimerosal induced hypersensitivity, myelodyplastic syndrome and pancytopenia. Web.
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