§ Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many yellow cards have been submitted in the past five years to record adverse reactions to the meningitis C injection. [156476]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 2 April 2001]Between 1 November 1999 and 28 February 2001, the Medicines Control Agency received a total of 12,880 Yellow Card reports of 26,682 suspected adverse drug reactions to the Meningitis C vaccines. The most commonly reported suspected reactions were soreness and/or redness at the injection site, headache, dizziness, nausea and rash. These reactions are documented in the product information for the three Meningitis C vaccines. By the end of the immunisation campaign, the majority of suspected adverse drug reactions received were non-serious. During this time, 18.5 million doses of vaccine were supplied as part of a national immunisation campaign to vaccinate all children under the age of 18 years. This corresponds to a reporting rate of 1 in 1,436 doses distributed. Yellow Card reports of suspected adverse drug reactions do not necessarily mean that the drug caused the reaction.