§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what considerations led to the decision not to include details of each of the known side effects of immunisation in the booklet, "Measles—Why every child in school needs to be protected from measles this autumn," which was distributed by the his Department in Wales. [40658]
§ Mr. Richards[holding answer 31 October 1995]: The content of the measles booklet was underpinned by research to establish what information parents regarded as most important. This research, conducted by the Health Education Authority, showed that parents were unaware of the seriousness of measles. The final leaflet which was approved by the Measles Immunisation Group, an expert committee comprising a wide range of NHS professionals, reflected parents' information priorities about the need for measles and rubella immunisation.
Side effects from measles-rubella vaccine are rare, but the more common ones are covered in the booklet. Doctors were given more detailed information on the full range of possible adverse reactions. Parents were advised to discuss any further concerns with their family doctor.
The measles booklet distributed in Wales was the same as that for the rest of the UK, except that it was bilingual.
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