§ 8. Mr. John Healey (Wentworth)If he will make a statement on progress with the new immunisation programme against meningitis C-type in Yorkshire. [115155]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Yvette Cooper)The first phase of the new meningococcal group C vaccine programme in Yorkshire and across the country is progressing well. We are on target to offer the vaccine to all under-18s by the end of this year. I welcome the hard work of those across the national health service and that of the manufacturers who have done so much to put the programme in place so quickly.
§ Mr. HealeyI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. She will remember the three local teenage deaths in nine days last winter from the C-type killer. Is she, therefore, aware of the strong support in Rotherham for the Government's determination to make the United Kingdom the first country in the world to use this new vaccine in a national immunisation programme? Will she pay tribute to the health authority, the schools and other local agencies in Rotherham which together have achieved 91 per cent. coverage among the vulnerable 15 to 17-year-olds in schools? In particular, Rawmarsh comprehensive has achieved a 99 per cent. immunisation rate. Will she confirm that we have not seen such figures for any vaccination programme for that age group in the past?
§ Yvette CooperI certainly pay tribute to the work done in Rotherham and to the high take-up rates that have been achieved. I am pleased to tell the House of the impact of the meningitis C vaccination programme so far. The data we have suggest that the new vaccine has already cut winter cases in the groups who were immunised first by 75 per cent. and that the number of tragic deaths from meningitis C in those age groups has fallen already. That proves how right my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson) was, as the former 212 Secretary of State for Health, to take the decision to bring in the vaccine as rapidly as possible and far more quickly than many people thought possible.
§ Miss Anne McIntosh (Vale of York)Will the Minister ensure that there is proper publicity, so that everyone who is eligible for the vaccine will be assured of it within a year? Will she join me in encouraging hospital staff and medical care workers generally to have the vaccinations to which they are also entitled?
§ Yvette CooperI welcome the hon. Lady's support for the meningitis C vaccination programme. We have already begun television advertising to make people aware of the programme. Vaccinations for children of school age are being carried out in schools, and awareness in schools is also important.
§ Mr. Kevin Barron (Rother Valley)Despite the excellent targets that are being met in the schools in Rotherham, some people are excluded from the programme. Will my hon. Friend ensure that there are means of contacting people who are not in schools, so that as many people as possible receive the vaccinations? Through my hon. Friend the Minister, may I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson), who spent a lot of time and energy when he was at the Department of Health making sure that we had the type of protection that our country and our children deserve?
§ Yvette CooperI certainly support my hon. Friend's remarks. It is worth reinforcing the point that we are the first country in the world to have this vaccination programme in place. It is a tribute to the work of the NHS that we have managed to do that. My hon. Friend is right to say that there are groups of people—particularly 15 to 17-year-olds who are not in school—that we want to find other ways to reach. The under-fives and the 15 to 17-year-olds who are not at school will be reached through their general practitioners, but we are keen to make further progress on that in future.