§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on recent changes in the levels of child protection against avoidable illnesses or diseases.
§ Mr. DorrellThe latest estimates for national childhood immunisation uptake are:
- Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio vaccines—93 per cent. at 18 months.
- Whooping cough—88 per cent. at 18 months.
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella—90 per cent. at 24 months.
Notifications of these diseases are now running at exceptionally low levels, and provisional returns show that in 1991 no child died from acute measles or whooping cough. The introduction of measles, mumps and rubella immunisation in October 1988, the GP targets scheme in April 1990 and the accelerated infant schedule in May 1990, have all contributed to this success. We plan to add another vaccine, "Hib", to the programme from October 1992. This will protect young children against invasive haemophilus disease, a major cause of bacterial meningitis.