I have arranged for the circulation in the Official Report of a tabular statement containing information provided by the health boards on the percentage uptake of MMR vaccination, broken down, where possible, on a county by county basis and, in the Dublin region, by community care area. In some health board areas the community care areas cover more than one county and in these cases it is not possible to produce a separate uptake figure for each county.
My Department recently wrote to the health boards, stressing the importance of achieving high immunisation rates to prevent the further transmission of measles infection. I take this opportunity to strongly urge parents in all areas to ensure that their children receive the MMR vaccine, which is available free of charge from their family doctor. This will ensure that individual children and the population generally have maximum protection against measles, mumps and rubella.
In relation to concerns which some parents may have about the MMR vaccine, the available evidence about this vaccine has been examined and the advice of the National Immunisation Committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has been sought by my Department. All the expert advice available to me is that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective and that there is no evidence of a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and either chronic inflammatory bowel disease or autism. This is supported by a number of well-validated studies on this issue.
Recent media reports on this issue relate to an alleged association between measles and autism. However, the research concerned has not been published and so independent experts, in Ireland and elsewhere, have been unable to examine the evidence for the statements which have reportedly been made.
Uptake rates of MMR vaccination:
Eastern Regional Health Authority
|
|
Community care area 1
|
81%
|
Community care area 2
|
74%
|
Community care area 3
|
77%
|
Community care area 4
|
70%
|
Community care area 5
|
69%
|
Community care area 6
|
72%
|
Community care area 7
|
68%
|
Community care area 8
|
80%
|
County Kildare
|
75%
|
County Wicklow
|
84%
|
Midland Health Board
|
|
Laois/Offaly
|
72%
|
Longford/Westmeath
|
68%
|
Mid-Western Health Board
|
|
Clare
|
70%
|
Limerick
|
71%
|
North Tipperary/east Limerick
|
76%
|
North Eastern Health Board
|
|
Cavan
|
84%
|
Monaghan
|
83%
|
Louth
|
74%
|
Meath
|
75%
|
North Western Health Board
|
|
Donegal
|
78%
|
Sligo/Leitrim
|
80%
|
South Eastern Health Board
|
|
Carlow
|
84%
|
Kilkenny
|
86%
|
South Tipperary
|
90%
|
Waterford
|
89%
|
Wexford
|
86%
|
Southern Health Board
|
|
Cork
|
72%
|
Kerry
|
76%
|
Western Health Board
|
|
Galway
|
79%
|
Mayo
|
80%
|
Roscommon
|
82%
|