§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the levels of health risk associated with the use of(a) mercury free and (b) mercury based preservatives in vaccines for children. [122715]
Admission, from Accident and Emergency Departments, Southend Hospital NHS Trust, 2001–02 to 2003–04 Number of patients admitted through Patients placed in bed in a ward within 2 hours of a decision to admit Patients placed in bed in a ward within 2 to 4 hours of a decision to admit Patients not placed in bed in a ward within 4 hours of a decision to admit Qtr Name major A&E Number % Number % Number % 2003–04 1 Southend Hospital NHS Trust 3,674 891 24.3 2,783 75.7 0 0.0 2002–03 4 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 3,549 1,189 33.5 2,357 66.4 3 0.1 2002–03 3 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,784 380 13.6 2,395 86.0 9 0.3 2002–03 2 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,609 577 22.1 2,031 77.8 1 0.0 2002–03 1 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,431 1,386 57.0 1,044 42.9 1 0.0 2001–02 4 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,441 984 40.3 1,454 59.6 3 0.1 2001–02 3 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,561 1221 47.7 1,334 52.1 6 0.2 2001–02 2 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 2,428 1068 44.0 1.350 55.6 10 0.4 2001–02 1 Southend Health Care NHS Trust 4,192 4,186 99.9 0 0.0 6 0.1 Source:
Department of Health dataset QMAE/AMGN
1356W
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 30 June 2003]: The vaccines used in the childhood immunisation programme have been thoroughly assessed for safety prior to being licensed. As with all medicinal products, vaccine safety is continually monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the independent expert advisory Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM).
No vaccine or medicinal product is without potential side effects and these are clearly listed in the product information that is available to health professionals and patients. The CSM has reviewed the safety of vaccines containing the preservative thiomersal (which contains ethyl mercury) on a number of occasions. In 2001, the CSM conducted a major review of the available evidence and has considered new data as it has come to light in 2003. A statement was placed on the MHRA website at http://medicines.mhra.gov.uk in February 2003, summarising the latest evidence on this issue.
The advice of the CSM remains that, with the exception of possible hypersensitivity reactions (that typically include skin rashes or local swelling at the site of injection), there is no evidence of harm from thiomersal contained in vaccines and that the benefits of immunisation with thiomersal-containing vaccines outweigh any potential risks of vaccination. This view concurs with that of the World Health Organisation.