§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures his Department is taking to increase vaccination rates against German measles, particularly amongst girls.
§ Mr. John MacKayWe maintain a constant review of vaccination acceptance rates and encourage health boards to do all they can, through education and publicity, to improve these rates among schoolgirls and susceptible adult women. A new leaflet on this subject has recently been published by the Scottish Health Education Group.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of rubella have been notified to his Department in each of the past three years.
273W
§ Mr. John MacKayRubella is not a statutorily notifiable disease. Notifications are available only for Edinburgh and Glasgow and totalled 803 in 1980; 531 in 1981; and 551 in 1982.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many schoolgirls have been vaccinated against rubella by their 14th birthday in the latest year; and what percentage of the female age group this figure represents.
§ Mr. John MacKay22,858 girls born in Scotland (excluding the areas of the Greater Glasgow and Lothian health boards, for which appropriate information is not available) had been vaccinated by the end of 1982; this represents a vaccination rate of 78.1 per cent.