§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what investigative action has been taken to date by his Department since the publication in January 1974 of a paper co-authored by Dr. John Wilson, which showed that 12 out of 36 children with brain damage 578W ascribed to vaccination had contraindications; and whether his Department issued further advice on contraindications after consideration of Dr. Wilson's paper;
(8) if he will request the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to publish the evidence on the basis of which it recommended that the whooping cough vaccine should continue to be recommended as a joint procedure;
(9) if he will give a precise meaning to the words "low" and "serious" as used by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in its report published in the British Medical Journal on 20th September 1975, which said that the incidence of serious hazards was low;
(14) if he will make a statement on the progress being made by the Sub-Committee of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which is looking into the complications arising from vaccination; and if he will undertake to publish the report when it is received;
(16) what advice his Department gave to doctors about the use of whooping-cough vaccine prior to the start of the immunisation scheme in 1957, in the light of papers published by Byers and Moll in America in 1948, and by Harris and Anderson in the United Kingdom in 1950, each of which reported on encephalophy after vaccination and suggested contraindications; and how this advice differs, if at all, from that which his Department currently gives.
§ Mr. Ennals, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th January 1977; Vol. 924, c. 251–3], circulated the following information:
No advice on whooping-cough vaccination was issued by the Department before 1957. Routine vaccination was recommended only after a long period of trials to test the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. Current advice is contained in the Chief Medical Officer's letter 17/74 issued in June 1974.
The evidence on which the policy recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is based was outlined in a statement, an edited version of which was published in the 579W British Medical Journal of 20th September 1975. In this statement "serious" means something which endangers life or could cause permanent disability. "Low" means substantially less than would have occurred naturally if vaccination had not been introduced.
Serious complications occur so infrequently that it will take some time for sufficient evidence to be gathered from current research studies to justify a conclusion. The question of publishing any interim report is mainly for the persons concerned with the research and no decision is possible at present.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation considered the paper by Dr. John Wilson and the Chief Medical Officer wrote to all NHS doctors in June 1974 to give specific advice on contra-indications.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services for what reasons his department refused the request of the Association of Vaccine Damaged Children to examine the 300 cases of children with brain damage ascribed to vaccine damage.
§ Mr. Ennals, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19th January 1977; Vol. 924, c. 251–3], circulated the following information:
In a letter dated 24th March 1976 the association was informed that the correct procedure would be for the doctor responsible for each child's treatment to report the case to the Committee on Safety of Medicines. I am, however, considering the matter further and would ask my hon. Friend to await my promised statement.