§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the levels of MMR vaccine take-up among children aged 24 months in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) Greater London in each of the last 15 years. [111284]
§ Yvette CooperMeasles, mumps and rubella vaccine was first introduced into the United Kingdom childhood immunisation programme in 1988. The information available about the percentage of children receiving the MMR vaccination by their second birthday is contained in table 3 in the Statistical Bulletin "NHS Immunisation Statistics. England: 1998–99". This includes data for the London region and dates back to the introduction of MMR vaccine. Copies are available in the Library.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current stock of MMR vaccine ready for use; and how many people could be vaccinated using this stock. [111287]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 22 February 2000]: As at 17 February 2000, a total of 983,146 doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine were held by the National Health Service's vaccine distributor. This amount is in single doses, enough to immunise 983,146 people with a single dose of vaccine or half that number with two doses. Children are recommended to receive two doses of MMR, the first at around 12–15 months, the second before school entry at around 3 to 5 years of age.