Lord WINSTANLEYasked Her Majesty's Government:
(1) What percentage of children at school entry have fulfilled the currently recommended immunization programme in each of the Health Service Regions of England and Wales;
(2) How do these figures compare with those of earlier years; and
(3) In which areas has the immunisation level fallen to such an extent as to present a risk of outbreaks of poliomyelitis, diphtheria or whooping cough.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLI regret that the information in the form requested is not available. Figures for vaccinations have only been collected for the present Regional Health Authorities since 1974. These cannot be related directly to earlier figures collected from local health authorities prior to 1974.
Figures are available on a regional basis for the percentage of children born in 1974 who had received a primary course of vaccination by the end of 1976 for measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio. These percentages are shown in the table below.
It is probable that the full extent of the fall in vaccination has yet to become apparent. The risk of outbreaks varies in inverse ratio to the percentage uptake of vaccination. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Social Services in his Statement in another place on 24th June drew attention to the serious risk that might arise if uptake declined below levels suggested by existing trends.
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VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION ACCEPTANCE RATES CHILDREN BORN 1974: VACCINATED BY 1976 Percentages Regional Health Authority Measles Diphtheria Whooping Cough Tetanus Polio Northern 47 69 33 69 69 Yorkshire 44 69 42 69 69 Trent East 54 76 45 76 76 Anglia 59 81 48 82 81 NW Thames 44 74 38 75 73 NE Thames 42 83 41 84 84 SE Thames 37 69 36 66 67 SW Thames 49 81 40 81 79 Wessex 69 86 36 36 85 Oxford 75 95 61 95 94 South Western 48 67 37 67 68 West Midlands 39 75 33 75 73 Mersey 32 64 34 64 64 North Western 34 71 33 71 71 England 47 75 39 75 75 Wales 21 64 22 63 67