§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 11 March 2002,Official Report, column 823W, on vaccines, what response he has received from (a) Glaxo Smith Kline and (b) the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control; and if he will place a copy of replies received in the Library. [49883]
§ Ms Blears[Holding answer 15 April 2002]: Glaxo SmithKline has confirmed that based on still available information that it is highly probable that batches 3741 and 3732 were issued in this country. Unfortunately they 858W no longer have details of the quantities of vaccine or the places where the vaccine was supplied. Since vaccines were not centrally purchased and distributed at that time, there are not central records either. Information on individuals who received these vaccines will only exist if the general practitioner at the time of the immunisation recorded the batch number, and the patients' notes are still available.
At the time that batches 3741 and 3732 were issued, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) only routinely assayed potency of pertussis vaccine using the Kenrick test. The mouse weight gain test, that was suggested to give high toxicity results for the two batches used in Eire, was not used in the release tests for pertussis vaccine by NIBSC at that time.