§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what assessment his Department has made of(a) the safety of the MMR vaccines and (b) the links the vaccines have with the development of autism in children; what representations he has received from abroad about the potential link with autism; what assessment he has made of the regulatory action which has been taken by other countries; and if he will make a statement; [56967]
(2) if he will assess the findings contained in the paper by Dr Andrew Wakefield published in The Lancet on MMR vaccinations. [56972]
§ Mr. GalbraithDr. Wakefield's paper has been considered by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and by a group of independent experts convened by the Medical Research Council on 23 March 1998 to consider the relevant evidence in view of suggestions that MMR vaccination was linked to autism and inflammatory bowel disease, especially Crohn's Disease. This group concluded, as had the Committee, that there was no evidence of any causal link. In the light of the Committee's views and the conclusions of the group of experts, the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland wrote to Health Boards and general practitioners on 27 March 1998 recommending strongly that parents 225W continue to have their children immunised with the MMR vaccine. My right hon. Friend has received no representations from abroad about the alleged link with autism.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will introduce single vaccine components of MMR. [56976]
§ Mr. GalbraithMy right hon. Friend is advised on vaccination and immunisation policy by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The Committee has not recommended the introduction of single vaccine components of MMR and he has no plans to do so.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will establish a review of(a) the effectiveness of and (b) side effects from the most recent national MMR vaccination campaign. [56979]
§ Mr. GalbraithMMR vaccination is now established as a normal component of the childhood vaccination programme. The safety and efficacy of all vaccines are kept under continuing surveillance by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.