Adverse Reactions

I read some pretty interesting threads today.
Although the debate itself isn't anything new, the arguments on both sides continue to be fascinating.

Do vaccines cause Autism?

I am not going to debate this, but I wanted to point out a particular argument that claimed that autism is listed as a possible adverse reaction to a vaccine.
The language in a medication or vaccine package insert is vital and can be complicated (often being misleading).
For instance, 'Common Known Side Effects' are primarily those effects discovered during a controlled drug trial. 'Side Effects of Unknown Prevalence' or 'Possible Adverse Reactions', however, are primarily based on self-reporting.
So if I were to get a vaccine, go home, then suffer from food poisoning, if I report it, the package insert is required to list it as a potential adverse reaction.
The reason they do this is because - as we have all seen - drug trials are not always long enough to discover all of the common side effects of a medication. Self-reporting is often how the medical community discovers rare side effects and prompts further testing to find a conclusive answer (or as conclusive as possible). That way, once they found out (for instance) that blood clots can occur with certain medications, doctors will think twice about prescribing that medication to an individual at high risk for strokes.

In the picture below is a portion of the Gardasil vaccine's insert, and the link can be reached here. This insert is easily accessed on the FDA website.
The reason I bring this one up specifically is to show the section of 'adverse reactions' that can help in understanding how these leaflets are put together.
Under this section, there are 5 adverse reactions listed that seem out of place.

4 people reported a 'motor vehicle accident' as a side effect of the vaccine, and 1 person reported a 'gunshot wound' as a side effect of the vaccine.
Now, while a motor vehicle accident *could* have been a result of anaphylaxis or seizure while driving (or several other possible medical reasons), I fail to see a reasonable explanation for how a vaccine can cause a gunshot wound.

There is a valid and useful reason to include all self-reported side effects and adverse reactions, because knowing how any substance affects the body is vital. It is also important that the general public know of these potential correlations so that a person can make his/her own decision when it comes to taking a prescribed medication.
The problem is that there appears to be a lack of understanding when it comes to deciphering the actual correlations and the self-reported and randomly claimed correlations.

Always remember that even if it says that a particular symptom is a potential side effect, that does not equate causation, nor does it mean that everyone will experience that symptom.