HC Deb 04 May 1990 vol 171 cc686-7W
Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been in the nature of the whooping cough vaccine since it was first recommended for general use by his Department.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

[holding answer 30 March 1990]: For reasons of commercial confidentiality it is not the practice of the Department to disclose information about commercial products. Requests for such information about licensed products should be made directly to the company holding the licence.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated percentage efficacy of the whooping cough vaccine currently used in the United Kingdom; and from which research studies the figure was obtained.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

[holding answer 30 March 1990]: The estimated efficacy of the current British whooping cough vaccine in preventing clinically typical disease is 80 per cent. The figure derives from a national study carried out in England and Wales during 1978–80.

Mr. Ashley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what comparative studies there have been of the efficacy and toxicity of the whole-cell whooping cough vaccine used in Britain as against the acellular one used in other countries;

(2) when, and for what reasons, his Department decided to investigate the value of whooping cough vaccines other than the whole-cell one.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

[holding answer 30 March 1990]: It was decided that acellular vaccines should be studied when it became known that such vaccines were becoming available. In a phase two trial, three acellular vaccines (one made in Britain, one in France and one in Japan) have been compared with British whole-cell vaccine for toxicity and immune response. A phase three (main trial) study to compare the protective efficacy of one or more of these acellular vaccines with whole-cell vaccine is now being planned in the United Kingdom. These investigations into whole-cell and acellular vaccines are being undertaken by the Medical Research Council

England—Average hospital costs
In-patient case Out-patient case Day case attendance
£ £ £ £ £ £
(cash) (at 1989–90 prices) (cash) (at 1989–90 prices) (cash) (at 1989–90 prices)
1979–80 466.72 1,108.28 61.58 146.23 35.80 85.01
1980–81 593.08 1,100.68 78.22 145.17 45.16 83.81
1981–82 640.40 1,098.40 87.55 150.16 51.74 88.74
1982–83 689.83 1,110.58 94.23 151.70 59.53 95.84
1983–84 687.74 1,053.29 98.21 150.41 58.71 89.92
1984–85 708.29 1,025.43 102.25 148.03 60.69 87.86
1985–86 718.94 989.89 108.88 149.91 65.80 90.60
1986–87 759.52 978.05 116.14 149.56 70.60 90.91

Patients using a bed-consultant episode Out-patient referral
£ £ £ £
(cash) (at 1989–90 prices) (cash) (at 1989–90 prices)
1987–88 445.60 528.81 96.71 114.76

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