§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, if he will publish in the Official Report details of the continuing study in the North West Thames Region of whooping-cough vaccination, giving the purpose of and the methods used in the study; and if he will arrange for the publication of an interim report of the information obtained so far.
§ Mr. Ennals, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 25th February 1977; Vol. 926, c. 727–8], gave the following information:
The purpose of the on-going Public Health Laboratory Service study in the North-West Thames Region is to ascertain more precisely the incidence of serious adverse reactions associated with immunisation procedures. All doctors in the region have been told of the importance of reporting adverse reactions and all cases of severe adverse reaction are followed-up to detect any permanent disability. Hospital records of patients with any illness which could have been associated with vaccine are also checked. The number of doses of each vaccine used in the region is obtained so that reaction rates can be calculated.
Information arising from the study is provided to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation but the time and method of publication of formal reports on the study is a matter for the Public Health Laboratory Service and the other doctors concerned in the region.