The Institute for Vaccine Safety (IVS) was established in 1998 to facilitate investigations of the safety of licensed vaccines and to provide objective information to federal agencies, national advisory committees, physicians, journalists, and parents. Diane Griffin, MD, PhD, Richard Johnson, MD, and Donald Burke, MD, serve on the IVS Executive Board and faculty from several departments in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine participate in IVS-sponsored research and workshops. IVS has conducted workshops to address concerns about possible associations between vaccines and autoimmune disorders, including type I diabetes. Proceedings from the diabetes workshop have been published (publication #1), and the findings have been useful in countering false claims by vocal anti-vaccination groups. IVS has also taken a lead role in evaluating concerns about demyelinating diseases and the hepatitis B vaccine in collaboration with WHO and the Viral Hepatitis B prevention Board (results have been published, #2). IVS faculty are conducting research into possible associations between hepatitis B vaccines and multiple sclerosis. Faculty have taken a lead role in addressing concerns about mercury exposure from vaccines and are working with national authorities to reduce infant exposures to mercury in vaccines. An editorial has been published (#3) on this subject and the IVS website has provided up-to-date information about the mercury content in individual vaccines, as well as information generated by the Academy of Pediatrics, CDC, and presentations at national meetings. IVS faculty contribute information on vaccines and vaccine safety on a regular basis to Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults!, publications circulated to more than 20,000 health care providers. In addition, IVS provides information to journalists on an "as-needed" basis and participates in congressional hearings concerning the safety of various vaccines. Faculty are also conducting investigations, with support from the FDA and CDC, to improve the quality of data reported though the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. For further information, visit the Institute for Vaccine Safety website. The website provides in-depth information on vaccines, vaccine-preventable disease, and risk analysis. Publications 1. The Institute for Vaccine Safety Diabetes Workshop Panel. Childhood immunizations and type 1 diabetes: summary of an Institute for Vaccine Safety Workshop. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1999; 18:217-22. 2. Halsey NA, DuClos P, Van Damme P, Margolis H. Hepatitis B vaccine and central nervous system demyelinating diseases. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1999; 18:23-4. 3. Halsey NA. Limiting Infant Exposure to Thimerosal in Vaccines and Other Sources of Mercury. JAMA 1999; 282(18):1763-6. | 
