Gay Mitchell
Question:220 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement addressing the concerns of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12. [4107/02]
Written Answers. - Vaccination Programme.
Willie Penrose
Question:238 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Health and Children the assurances and information in relation to the MMR vaccine which are available to members of the public who have expressed concern in relation to this vaccination procedure; if there are alternatives available; if his Department will take steps to allay concerns about same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4350/02]
John Dennehy
Question:242 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to reports of private clinics planning to offer single injections for measles, mumps and rubella; his views on such a development; the level of uptake of the MMR vaccination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4374/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 220, 238 and 242 together.
The primary childhood immunisation programme provides for the immunisation of children under two years of age against a range of potentially serious infectious diseases. Under the programme, parents may have their children immunised free of charge by the general practitioner of their choice. The schedule of immunisation is in accordance with the recommendations of the immunisation advisory committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, RCPI. General practitioners are aware of the contra-indications to the recommended childhood immunisations and parents should discuss any concerns they may have with their general practitioner before making a decision about their child's immunisation.
The MMR vaccine is available under the primary childhood immunisation programme and there is no provision for children to receive separate measles, mumps or rubella vaccinations under this programme. On the basis of currently available information, there is no evidence that giving each of the component vaccines separately has any greater benefit than the combined vaccines. Splitting the MMR vaccine into separate components would involve extra injections for children and would cause both children and the people with whom they come in contact to be exposed to these potentially serious diseases for a much longer period of time and be at greater risk of contracting the diseases concerned. There are sound public health reasons for not administering the MMR as separate vaccines.
I am aware from media reports that a private clinic is planning to offer single measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. However, I have no information about this clinic or the vaccines it proposes to offer. The MMR vaccine is licensed by the Irish Medicines Board which is responsible for monitoring and safety of all pharmaceutical products in Ireland.
The international consensus is that MMR is a safe and effective vaccine and that the recently published medical evidence did not support a causal link between MMR and autism. The institutions involved include the Medical Research Council Expert Committee UK, the British Committee on Safety of Medicines, the World Health Organisation, the CDC USA, the American Academy of Paediatrics, UK professional organisations – the RCGP, the Royal College of Paediatrics, the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, the BMA, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Most recently, the United States Institute of Medicine also concluded that there was no link between the vaccine and autism-inflammatory bowel disease. This consensus is based on large scale epidemiological studies and more specific studies done in the laboratory setting.
The World Health Organisation has indicated that observations made regarding the onset of autism following the administration of the MMR vaccine do not meet the scientific criteria required to suggest that the vaccine is the cause. It has also indicated that there has been no new scientific evidence that would suggest impaired safety of the vaccine. The WHO strongly endorses the use of the MMR vaccine on the grounds of its convincing record of safety and efficacy. This view is supported by the Irish Medicines Board and by the RCPI.
The Joint Committee on Health and Children in its report on childhood immunisation, which was published in July 2001, concluded that there is no evidence of a proven link between the MMR vaccine and autism and there is no evidence to show that the separate vaccines are any safer than the combined MMR vaccine.
The most recent MMR uptake figure – for the third quarter of 2001 – shows that the national MMR uptake rate in children at 24 months has declined to 70%. This falls considerably short of the target figure of 95% uptake which is necessary to generate "herd immunity". I am concerned about the unsatisfactory immunisation uptake rates because of the risk of unimmunised children contracting the potentially serious diseases concerned. The outbreak of measles in 2000, which resulted in three deaths and more than 1,500 cases, is evidence of the consequences of insufficient immunisation uptake. Measles is a highly infectious disease and is not a trivial illness. Approximately one in 15 children with measles suffers serious complications. These include pneumonia, ear infection and, less commonly, inflammation of the brain – encephalitis – myocarditis and SSPE, which may result in permanent brain damage usually occurring many years after infection.
The chief executive officers of the health boards established a national immunisation steering committee to address a wide range of issues relating to the childhood and other immunisation programmes including the identification of issues which are hampering the achievement of uptake targets. My Department has recently received this report and is currently examining its recommendations.
I take this opportunity to urge all parents to have their children immunised against the diseases covered by the childhood immunisation programme in order to ensure that both their children and the population generally have maximum protection against the diseases concerned.