The purpose of the Institute for Vaccine Safety is to obtain and disseminate objective information on the safety of recommended immunizations. With the explosion in technology in recent years there has been a boom in vaccine development. New vaccines and combination vaccines are being developed, and more manufacturers have entered the field.
Vaccines are likely to play an increasingly important role in health care.
Technological advances have also opened the field to investigations regarding the safety of existing vaccines and have sometimes created a climate of concern and criticism. The information 'super highway' has flooded the public with information about vaccines and spurred the debate about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Information ranges from scientific articles written for an audience of highly trained investigators to opinions and false rumors. Several government organizations generate data and provide information and recommendations regarding vaccines, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Vaccine Compensation Program, the National Immunization Program, and the National Institutes of Health. However, when new information becomes available to the public regarding a vaccine safety issue, government officials are often restricted in what they can say or release and therefore are unable to provide timely opinions due to restrictions placed on them, legal concerns, or because of concern about misinterpretation of their comments.