§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what actions he has taken to achieve 95 per cent. population coverage for measles, mumps and rubella immunisation. [96257]
§ Mr. HuttonWe have set a national target of 95 per cent. coverage for the routine childhood immunisations (including MMR) by age 2. Adverse publicity about the safety of MMR vaccine led to uptake falling from an annual peak of 92 per cent. over the past 3 years. Recent quarterly data from the Public Health Laboratory Service show that this earlier fall appears to have stabilised. For the quarter April to June 1999, 88 per cent. of children at age 2 had received the vaccine (up to 0.4 percentage points on the previous quarter). Most encouragingly, the percentage of children immunised at age 16 months at August 1999 stood at 79.1 per cent., an increase of 3.5 percentage points on April 1999.
Our recommendations on immunisation are based upon the advice of independent experts. All new evidence on the safety of MMR vaccine is carefully considered by independent groups of scientific and medical experts and subjected to the same rigorous scrutiny as was given to the evidence on which the advice to parents on protecting their children through MMR immunisation is based. The views of these independent experts, as well as those of experts from around the world, including the World Health Organisation, remain unequivocal that there is no evidence of any link between MMR vaccine and inflammatory bowel disease or autism.
We aim to make factually accurate scientific information freely and widely available. As new scientific data has become available—for example, the publication in June of a further two new studies supporting the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and showing no evidence of links to autistic spectrum disorders or bowel problems—this has been widely publicised. The Chief Medical Officer regularly provides health professionals with summaries of the relevant pieces of research emphasising the safety of the vaccine. Ministers have addressed the concerns of the constituents of hon. Members both formally in the House, through correspondence and also through a series of meetings.
The information provided to the public seeks to address anxious parents' calls for factually accurate scientific information and to provide support for doctors dealing with them. In considering what public information to provide, the Department has taken account of research conducted through the Health Education Authority (HEA) on parental attitudes to immunisation and the data on uptake of vaccines provided by the PHLS. The Department's activities on the MMR vaccine reflect the views of parents consulted through this research. The Department has worked with the HEA to provide leaflets for parents, factsheets for professionals and posters for surgeries that have been widely distributed.
Locally, immunisation co-ordinators have been supported with information and material for use in health authority-based campaigns to publicise the facts about MMR vaccine.
352WThe Department will continue to respond promptly to any parental concerns about the vaccine and to make the facts available emphasising that MMR remains the safest way for parents to protect their children against these diseases.