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Roger Bernier, PhD, MPH and Karen Midthun, MD

Roger Bernier is with the National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Karen Midthun is with the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Roger Bernier, PhD, MPH, 1600 Clifton Rd, Mailstop E-05, Atlanta, GA 30333 (e-mail: rbernier{at}cdc.gov).

Because of the potential for conflicts of interest, Salmon et al. propose in this issue the creation of an independent vaccine safety board to assume responsibility for assessing the safety of licensed vaccines.

We believe that the current system at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) facilitates needed interactions between those involved in risk assessment and risk management, provides substantial safeguards against conflicts of interest, and results in sound decisions.

The CDC, given its role in promoting immunization, may be perceived to have a greater potential conflict and plans to review its vaccine safety activities. Both agencies recognize the importance of transparency in considering vaccine safety and welcome the opportunity to work with the public and the medical community to improve the quality of scientific information and decisionmaking.

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