Elizabeth Miller (epidemiologist)

Last updated

Elizabeth Miller OBE FMedSci is a British epidemiologist and professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She worked at the Public Health Laboratory Service and Public Health England, researching the safety and effectiveness of new and existing vaccination programmes. Prominent work included investigating the link between MMR vaccine and autism, finding no evidence to support a causal association between these.

Contents

Career

Miller joined the Public Health Laboratory Service as a medical epidemiologist in 1978. [1] Uptake of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine had fallen in the United Kingdom, following a 1974 report that linked whole-cell pertussis vaccine to brain damage [1] [2] (see Pertussis vaccine § Controversy in the 1970s–1980s). Miller's first role with the Public Health Laboratory Service was working on large safety and efficacy studies of pertussis vaccines. [1] Her work confirmed the safety of the vaccine and contributed to the subsequent increase in acceptance of the vaccine. [1]

Her subsequent career investigated the safety and effectiveness of various vaccines, using methods including clinical trials, records linkage, and mathematical models. [3] She investigated concerns of a potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism, [1] finding no evidence of a causal association between these. [4] She led research that showed multiple childhood vaccinations did not "overload the immune system" or cause an increase in secondary infections. [5] She contributed to a change in policy that led to the use of meningitis C conjugate vaccines in Africa. [3] She has led studies of the effect of vaccination against Covid-19 in the household setting. [6]

She became the Head of the Immunisation Division at the Public Health Laboratory Service [7] and remained in this role when the organisation became Public Health England. [6] After leaving Public Health England, Miller became professor of vaccine epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine [8] and a visiting professor in the School of Public Health at Tel Aviv University. [6]

Miller led the National Vaccine Evaluation Consortium for more than twenty years. [9] She was a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization from 2007 to 2013 [10] and a founder member of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety. [1]

Honours

Miller was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year's Honours. [11] She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2011. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaccination</span> Administration of a vaccine to protect against disease

Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating the body's adaptive immunity, they help prevent sickness from an infectious disease. When a sufficiently large percentage of a population has been vaccinated, herd immunity results. Herd immunity protects those who may be immunocompromised and cannot get a vaccine because even a weakened version would harm them. The effectiveness of vaccination has been widely studied and verified. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases; widespread immunity due to vaccination is largely responsible for the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the elimination of diseases such as polio and tetanus from much of the world. However, some diseases, such as measles outbreaks in America, have seen rising cases due to relatively low vaccination rates in the 2010s – attributed, in part, to vaccine hesitancy. According to the World Health Organization, vaccination prevents 3.5–5 million deaths per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MMR vaccine</span> Any of several combined vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella

The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella, abbreviated as MMR. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, with at least four weeks between the doses. After two doses, 97% of people are protected against measles, 88% against mumps, and at least 97% against rubella. The vaccine is also recommended for those who do not have evidence of immunity, those with well-controlled HIV/AIDS, and within 72 hours of exposure to measles among those who are incompletely immunized. It is given by injection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DPT vaccine</span> Combination vaccine

The DPT vaccine or DTP vaccine is a class of combination vaccines against three infectious diseases in humans: diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (lockjaw). The vaccine components include diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, and either killed whole cells of the bacterium that causes pertussis or pertussis antigens. The term toxoid refers to vaccines which use an inactivated toxin produced by the pathogen which they are targeted against to generate an immune response. In this way, the toxoid vaccine generates an immune response which is targeted against the toxin which is produced by the pathogen and causes disease, rather than a vaccine which is targeted against the pathogen itself. The whole cells or antigens will be depicted as either "DTwP" or "DTaP", where the lower-case "w" indicates whole-cell inactivated pertussis and the lower-case "a" stands for "acellular". In comparison to alternative vaccine types, such as live attenuated vaccines, the DTP vaccine does not contain any live pathogen, but rather uses inactivated toxoid to generate an immune response; therefore, there is not a risk of use in populations that are immune compromised since there is not any known risk of causing the disease itself. As a result, the DTP vaccine is considered a safe vaccine to use in anyone and it generates a much more targeted immune response specific for the pathogen of interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaccine hesitancy</span> Reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or have ones children vaccinated

Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. The scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and effective is overwhelming. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, the World Health Organization characterizes vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act</span> US law

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 was signed into law by United States President Ronald Reagan as part of a larger health bill on November 14, 1986. NCVIA's purpose was to eliminate the potential financial liability of vaccine manufacturers due to vaccine injury claims to ensure a stable market supply of vaccines, and to provide cost-effective arbitration for vaccine injury claims. Under the NCVIA, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) was created to provide a federal no-fault system for compensating vaccine-related injuries or death by establishing a claim procedure involving the United States Court of Federal Claims and special masters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaccination schedule</span> Series of vaccinations

A vaccination schedule is a series of vaccinations, including the timing of all doses, which may be either recommended or compulsory, depending on the country of residence. A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to a disease, in order to prevent or reduce the effects of infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen. Vaccines go through multiple phases of trials to ensure safety and effectiveness.

Thiomersal is a mercury compound which is used as a preservative in some vaccines. Anti-vaccination activists promoting the incorrect claim that vaccination causes autism have asserted that the mercury in thiomersal is the cause. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. The idea that thiomersal in vaccines might have detrimental effects originated with anti-vaccination activists and was sustained by them and especially through the action of plaintiffs' lawyers.

A vaccine adverse event (VAE), sometimes referred to as a vaccine injury, is an adverse event believed to have been caused by vaccination. The World Health Organization (WHO) knows VAEs as Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program</span> U.S. no-fault system for litigating vaccine injury claims

The Office of Special Masters of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, popularly known as "vaccine court", administers a no-fault system for litigating vaccine injury claims. These claims against vaccine manufacturers cannot normally be filed in state or federal civil courts, but instead must be heard in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, sitting without a jury.

Immunization during pregnancy is the administration of a vaccine to a pregnant individual. This may be done either to protect the individual from disease or to induce an antibody response, such that the antibodies cross the placenta and provide passive immunity to the infant after birth. In many countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, vaccination against influenza, COVID-19 and whooping cough is routinely offered during pregnancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hepatitis B vaccine</span> Vaccine against hepatitis B

Hepatitis B vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis B. The first dose is recommended within 24 hours of birth with either two or three more doses given after that. This includes those with poor immune function such as from HIV/AIDS and those born premature. It is also recommended that health-care workers be vaccinated. In healthy people, routine immunization results in more than 95% of people being protected.

Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism have been extensively investigated and found to be false. The link was first suggested in the early 1990s and came to public notice largely as a result of the 1998 Lancet MMR autism fraud, characterised as "perhaps the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years". The fraudulent research paper, authored by discredited former doctor Andrew Wakefield and published in The Lancet, falsely claimed the vaccine was linked to colitis and autism spectrum disorders. The paper was retracted in 2010 but is still cited by anti-vaccine activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Wakefield</span> Discredited British former doctor (born 1956)

Andrew Jeremy Wakefield is a British fraudster, discredited academic, anti-vaccine activist, and former physician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pertussis vaccine</span> Vaccine protecting against whooping cough

Pertussis vaccine is a vaccine that protects against whooping cough (pertussis). There are two main types: whole-cell vaccines and acellular vaccines. The whole-cell vaccine is about 78% effective while the acellular vaccine is 71–85% effective. The effectiveness of the vaccines appears to decrease by between 2 and 10% per year after vaccination with a more rapid decrease with the acellular vaccines. The vaccine is only available in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. Pertussis vaccine is estimated to have saved over 500,000 lives in 2002.

A vaccine-preventable disease is an infectious disease for which an effective preventive vaccine exists. If a person acquires a vaccine-preventable disease and dies from it, the death is considered a vaccine-preventable death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pearl Kendrick</span> American bacteriologist

Pearl Louella Kendrick was an American bacteriologist known for co-developing the first successful whooping cough vaccine alongside fellow Michigan Department of Public Health scientist Grace Eldering and chemist Loney Gordon in the 1930s. In the decades after the initial pertussis vaccine rollout, Kendrick contributed to the promotion of international vaccine standards in Latin America and the Soviet Union. Kendrick and her colleagues also developed a 3-in-1 shot for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus called the DTP vaccine which was initially released in 1948.

Frank DeStefano FACPM is a medical epidemiologist and researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he is director of the Immunization Safety Office.

DTaP-IPV-HepB vaccine is a combination vaccine whose generic name is diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis adsorbed, hepatitis B (recombinant) and inactivated polio vaccine or DTaP-IPV-Hep B. It protects against the infectious diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, and hepatitis B.

The Lancet MMR autism fraud centered on the publication in February 1998 of a fraudulent research paper titled "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children" in The Lancet. The paper, authored by now discredited and deregistered Andrew Wakefield, and twelve coauthors, falsely claimed causative links between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and colitis and between colitis and autism. The fraud was exposed in a lengthy Sunday Times investigation by reporter Brian Deer, resulting in the paper's retraction in February 2010 and Wakefield being struck off the UK medical register three months later. Wakefield reportedly stood to earn up to US$43 million per year selling diagnostic kits for a non-existent syndrome he claimed to have discovered. He also held a patent to a rival vaccine at the time, and he had been employed by a lawyer representing parents in lawsuits against vaccine producers.

Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise, and that vaccine ingredients do not cause autism. Vaccinologist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim and concluded that its spread originated with Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 paper, with no prior paper supporting a link.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miller, Elizabeth (16 October 2015). "Controversies and challenges of vaccination: an interview with Elizabeth Miller". BMC Med. 13: 267. doi: 10.1186/s12916-015-0508-z . PMC   4608187 . PMID   26472230.
  2. ↑ Gangarosa, E.J.; Galazka, A.M.; Wolfe, C.R.; Phillips, L.M.; Miller, E.; Chen, R.T.; Gangarosa, R.E. (31 January 1998). "Impact of anti-vaccine movements on pertussis control: the untold story". Lancet. 351 (9099): 356–361. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(97)04334-1. PMID   9652634. S2CID   35969647.
  3. 1 2 3 "Professor Elizabeth Miller OBE FMedSci". The Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Brent; Miller, Elizabeth; Farrington, C. Paddy; Petropoulos, Maria-Christina; Favot-Mayaud, Isabelle; Li, Jun; Waight, Pauline A. (12 June 1999). "Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association" (PDF). Lancet. 353 (9169): 2026–2029. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01239-8. PMID   10376617. S2CID   8015110.
  5. ↑ "MMR cleared of infection risk". BBC News. 20 February 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Elizabeth (Liz) Miller BSc, MBBS, FRCPath, FMedSci" (PDF). Tel Aviv University. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Select Committee on Science and Technology Minutes of Evidence". October 2002. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Prof Liz Miller". London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "Key Collaborators". NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Respiratory Infections. Imperial College London. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE): SAGE Working Group on maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination and broader tetanus control (October 2015 - February 2017)". World Health Organization. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "Medical safety experts honoured". BBC News. BBC. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.