§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the provision of smallpox vaccinations for medical personnel. [148762]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 19 January 2004]: As part of its overall preparedness strategy for dealing with bioterrorism, the Department has produced a detailed smallpox plan. This plan requires that each standard Government region should have a regional response group consisting of five response teams each comprising of five members vaccinated against smallpox. Corresponding arrangements are being made for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This cohort of healthcare workers would be the first responders in investigating any suspected or confirmed cases of smallpox and therefore need to be protected against the threat of disease. A programme to
1112WHealth does not collect information on resident/service user contributions for personal care only.
vaccinate the necessary cohort for England commenced in December 2002 and to date we have vaccinated 276 healthcare workers; exceeding our target of 261. The cohort comprises infectious disease physicians and paediatricians, public health physicians, microbiologists/virologists, acute care and communicable disease control nurses and occupational health staff. In addition, a further target of 90 ambulance staff to be vaccinated has recently been set for England. These are the only personnel being offered smallpox vaccination in the absence of disease.
While there is no evidence of a specific threat of smallpox attack on the United Kingdom, it is sensible and prudent to ensure that the national health service can deal effectively with any potential threat.
The Department's smallpox plan is available in the Library and also on the Department's web-site at www.doh.gov.uk/smallpox/smallpox.htm.