We agree that our study [1] was not powered to detect rare adverse
events following immunization. Our study was powered to detect illnesses
with a 1% or higher prevalence. This was sufficient to detect the
increased risk of fever after vaccination. We also extended the study to
examine the common childhood illnesses before and after immunization
using a risk interval approach. Given that there is no description of
these conditions following immunization visits with multiple vaccines in
routine clinical practice, we believe that our data is useful for the
community of practicing pediatricians and those interested in
immunization.
We also appreciate the editorial that accompanied our
paper which highlighted that "the study could be an appropriate starting
point for more research to generate comparable data from public and
private sector and different geographic locations in the country" [2].
1. Kompithra RZ, Sarkar R, Mathew LG, Muliyil J, Kang
G. Study of common illnesses before and after vaccination: a risk
interval approach. Indian Pediatr. 2015;52:933-8.
2. Lahariya C. Strengthening the health systems for evidence-informed
policy making. Indian Pediatr. 2015;52:931-2.