HC Deb 12 May 1958 vol 588 cc9-14
6. Mrs. Castle

asked the Minister of Health what target he has set for the production of anti-poliomyelitis vaccine by Messrs. Glaxo and Burroughs Wellcome, respectively.

17. Mr. Edelman

asked the Minister of Health what invitations he has given to firms other than the present contractors to participate in the production of the British type of anti-poliomyelitis vaccine; and when these invitations were made.

Mr. Walker-Smith

It continues to be the Government's intention that, as soon as supplies are sufficient, only the British type of vaccine should be used in the vaccination scheme. The manufacturers are aware of this, and the issue of individual invitations to produce vaccine does not arise. Nor is there any question of the Government setting a production target for individual firms.

Mrs. Castle

Is the Minister aware that, on an A.T.V. programme the other day, Dr. Wheeler of Burroughs Wellcome explained that his firm had had no kind of guidance from the Ministry as to how much vaccine it should produce, and that it had set its own target, which was merely four million doses per annum? In view of the fact that that is quite inadequate for current needs, is it not nonsense to talk about making a British vaccine the basis of our supplies, and is it not wrong to leave the production of British vaccine really to the initiative of British firms governed purely, as Dr. Wheeler made plain, by commercial considerations?

Mr. Walker-Smith

The hon. Lady has asked several questions. In regard to the first, I am not, of course, responsible for what is said on an A.T.V. or any other programme. As to whether a sufficient order was placed, the orders placed with the British manufacturers were for the quantities which the firms thought they could produce for a period of six months. In point of fact, as, I think, she and the House know, the quantities delivered did not come up to orders placed, so I do not think it can be said that the Government were remiss in not placing larger orders.

Mr. Edelman

But as the Minister has described this vaccine as the safest and has said that it is his ultimate aim to provide all unvaccinated children with it, why does he tolerate a semi-monopoly in its production? Why not invite the whole pharmaceutical industry, irrespective of patent rights, to co-operate in order to produce the vaccine that he has described as being the safest and let it be available to every child?

Mr. Walker-Smith

It is not a matter of the Government issuing invitations to these commercial companies to produce this vaccine. Only large and well-equipped companies, as I think the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, can enter this field. I certainly would welcome supplies of British vaccine which is up to the standard from any source, and I am certainly ready to consider the purchase of British-type vaccine from whichever company chooses to put it forward.

Dr. Summerskill

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman tell the House whether he has told companies other than Messrs. Glaxo and Burroughs Wellcome that he is prepared to receive the vaccine from them?

Mr. Walker-Smith

I think they are well aware of that position. Indeed, there is a third British firm which has, in fact, entered into production at the present time, so I think the right hon. Lady can take it that the position is well known in those circles.

Mr. C. Hughes

Is the Minister aware that in many cases the British vaccine is being given for the first vaccination and a foreign vaccine for the second? Would he say whether that is approved by his Ministry's experts?

Mr. Walker-Smith

Oh, yes. I dealt with that in answer to a Question put to me by the hon. Member for Barking (Mr. Hastings) a week or two ago, and the Answer was that it is quite all right, on medical grounds, to vary the type of vaccine between the two injections.

Dr. Summerskill

I hope the Minister will forgive my pressing this, but both my hon. Friends are trying to extract this information. Can he say why, although he has declared in this House that he is quite prepared to have vaccine from other British firms who can produce it, he has specifically asked only two—Messrs. Glaxo and Burroughs Wellcome?

Mr. Walker-Smith

I have not specifically asked only two. Orders were placed with those two because they were the only two which were in a position to accept orders and to promise deliveries. As I have already indicated to the right hon. Lady, this third company is now in production, and, if its vaccine passes the M.R.C. tests, I am, of course, fully prepared to consider placing orders with it.

16. Mr. Edelman

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of those eligible for immunisation against poliomyelitis were either unvaccinated or had received only one inoculation against poliomyelitis at the latest date for which these figures are available.

Mr. Walker-Smith

In Great Britain at the end of February, the latest date for which national figures are available, 52 per cent. of those in the eligible groups who had registered were awaiting vaccination and 11 per cent. had had only one injection. Figures for the end of April should become available in a day or two.

Mr. Edelman

Does not the relatively low figure of registration and inoculation reflect the anxiety of parents at the Minister's grading of imported vaccine as second and third best? Would he not now positively recommend the Salk vaccine with the full confidence that, in the United States, where 17 million people have been safely inoculated, poliomyelitis is now well on the way to being a thing of the past?

Mr. Walker-Smith

I do not think that the registration figures necessarily reflect what the hon. Gentleman suggests. In any event, as I have already indicated to the House, those figures are only for the end of February, and registration is a continuing process; no doubt, when the figures for the end of April become available in a day or two, we shall see a material increase in the number of those registered.

It is true that a lot of people have been vaccinated in the United States, but there are still one in four of the 65 million young people under twenty not yet vaccinated, and 40 per cent. of all children under the age of five in the United States have not, in fact, started their vaccination.

Mr. Snow

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether the figures he has quoted are in respect of children who come within the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Education, and do they include children educated in the private sector of our educational system?

Mr. Walker-Smith

The hon. Gentleman is referring, of course, to the earlier British figures. They take in all children, wherever they are educated. They are national figures.

18. Mr. Lipton

asked the Minister of Health how many children in London now await poliomyelitis vaccination; and how many doses are now available for them.

Mr. Walker-Smith

The number on 30th April was 146,322, and a further 20,472 were awaiting their second injection. On that date, the county council held 61,195 doses of vaccine; an additional 28,860 doses have since been sent to them; and further substantial supplies should reach them this week and next.

Mr. Lipton

Does the Minister appreciate that the figure which he has given will go some way towards relieving some of the public uneasiness that exists? Will he give some kind of estimate of how many of the children now registered will still be unvaccinated by the commencement of the poliomyelitis season next month?

Mr. Walker-Smith

I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for what he has said. My estimate is that the supplies already issued, together with those about to be distributed, should very soon wipe out the deficit existing at the end of April. But, as I remarked to the hon. Member for Coventry, North (Mr. Edelman), registration is a continuing process and we shall continue to vaccinate the late entrants.

Mr. Gibson

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether his estimates are on the basis of two inoculations for each child? If not, the danger of poliomyelitis in London, which increased last year over the year before, I understand, will be very serious.

Mr. Walker-Smith

I am taking account in that estimate of the necessity to give two injections to each child.

22. Mr. Fort

asked the Minister of Health when the substantial new supplies of Salk vaccine will become available for use in this country.

Mr. Walker-Smith

Two million doses of Salk vaccine which have passed their tests and been licensed for issue in America are due to arrive tomorrow, and they will be distributed immediately to local health authorities. Another 1½ million doses of this vaccine are expected next week. In addition, a batch of half a million doses of British tested Salk vaccine is now being distributed, and further supplies are expected as tests are completed.

Mr. Fort

Would my right hon. and learned Friend tell us what is the estimated percentage of the registrations expected by the end of July which will remain unvaccinated when these and subsequent supplies have been distributed to the medical officers of health?

Mr. Walker-Smith

We shall be able with these supplies of vaccine to keep the vaccination programme going at full speed. The precise answer to my hon. Friend's question must, of course, depend upon the number of late registrations which are made.

Mr. Edelman

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give an assurance to hesitating parents that this Salk vaccine can be used with full confidence?

Mr. Walker-Smith

A Circular has been issued to medical officers of health dealing with this matter, and detailed guidance, including the Medical Research Council's Report, has been sent to them. Therefore, I do not think I ought to put a gloss on the expert guidance which has been given to the doctors to whom parents should turn for individual advice.