When the CDC Pertussis VIS says, “Lowered Consciousness,” It Means Hypotonic-Hyporesponsive Episode

In late 2014, the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice wished to clarify the meaning of the language of the CDC’s Pertussis Vaccine Information Statement when it referred to, “lowered consciousness,” as a serious adverse outcome of the vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/dtap.pdf “Severe problems (very rare) • Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million doses) • Several other severe problems have been reported after DTaP vaccine. These include: – Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness – Permanent brain damage.” [emphasis added] Because we could not find “lowered consciousness” as a term defined in the medical literature with any specific description, […]