John Gormley
Ceist:47 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on whether single vaccines should be offered as an alternative, in view of the latest evidence in relation to MMR. [5909/02]
Written Answers. - Vaccination Programme.
The primary childhood immunisation programme provides for the immunisation of children up to 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.
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. There are sound public health reasons for not administering the MMR as separate vaccines. 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. To my knowledge no other country advocates the use of three separate vaccines rather than the MMR vaccine. MMR vaccine is in use worldwide. Most countries implement a two dose MMR vaccine programme and this policy has been very successful in controlling measles where high uptake of the vaccine has been achieved. My primary concern and that of my Department in relation to immunisation is that the vaccines in use are safe and effective. There is a sound evidence basis for the use of MMR in the national programme.
The international consensus from professional bodies and international organisations is that MMR is a safe and effective vaccine and that the recently published medical evidence does not support a causal link between MMR vaccine and autism or inflammatory bowel disease. The institutions include the Medical Research Council Expert Committee, and the British Committee on Safety of Medicines in the UK, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Paediatrics in the USA as well as the World Health Organisation, and UK professional organisations. Most recently, the United States Institute of Medicine also concluded that there was no link between the vaccine and autism or 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 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 MMR. The WHO strongly endorses the use of 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 Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
The Irish Medicines Board, IMB, is responsible for the monitoring and safety of all pharmaceutical products in Ireland. The monitoring of vaccine safety is ensured through clinical trials prior to licence and post-licence surveillance by the IMB. The IMB liaises closely with international bodies including the European Medicines Evaluation Agency and the World Health Organisation.
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 that there is no evidence to show that the separate vaccines are any safer than the combined MMR vaccine.
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 disease concerned. General practitioners are aware of the contraindications 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.