This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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TWIN INITIATIVE BOOST FOR TRIPLE VACCINE
28/08/2001
Health Minister Susan Deacon today announced two new measures to give parents more information about the MMR vaccine and help answer their related questions about the vaccination programme.
Discussion packs are to be sent to every GP in Scotland to encourage health professionals and parents to review the evidence on having their child vaccinated.
Ms Deacon also announced the membership of the Expert Group on MMR, which meets for the first time today. It will look at a range of issues flowing from the Health and Community Care Committee's report on MMR and examine evidence relating to the apparent rise in the incidence of autism among children. It will report to the Minister by the end of February.
Scottish Health Minister Susan Deacon said:
"Studies from around the world have consistently shown that there is no link between the MMR vaccine and conditions such as autism and Crohn's disease. However, we have a duty to continue to do all we can to ensure that parents have clear answers to the questions they have raised about MMR, answers which will help them make an informed choice about the health of their child.
"That is why the Health Department, in conjunction with the Health Education Board for Scotland, will shortly launch The MMR Discussion Pack for health professionals and parents. And why we have also agreed to establish an expert group to work alongside the existing UK advisory committees, to ensure we provide better evidence and better information, and tackle parental concerns.
"In establishing the Expert Group, I would like to express my thanks to bodies such as the Scottish Society for Autism, the National Autistic Society, the National Society for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, the Scottish Consumer Council, the Medical Research Council, and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, for agreeing to participate in the Group. I am confident that the wide-ranging experience and expertise which each member will bring will further inform our knowledge in this vitally important area.
"The Health and Community Care Committee specifically recommended that the Scottish Society for Autism should be represented on the Expert Group. We are meeting that recommendation. In addition, I have also asked the Chairman to make sure that the Expert Group moves forward in an open and inclusive way, taking into account the views of other groups, including parents' groups.
"Figures to be published later this week are expected to show a fall in the number of parents having their children vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. No-one wants to see the return of potentially fatal diseases like measles in Scotland and no-one wants to see a single young life lost. We need to work together to ensure this does not happen. These two measures signal our clear desire to ensure that children's health is protected, parents' questions are answered, and immunisation rates are maintained.
BACKGROUND
MMR Discussion Pack
1. The Executive and HEBS will distribute the MMR Discussion Pack - an information guide for health professionals and parents, leaflets and posters, to all GPs and other appropriate health professionals during September 2001.
2. It sets out the facts on the most common questions about the MMR vaccine, in a way that allows health professionals and parents to explore these concerns together.
3. Nine main questions are covered:
- How serious are measles mumps and rubella?
- How does the MMR vaccine work?
- Has the MMR vaccine made a difference?
- Does the MMR vaccine cause serious diseases?
- What do we really know about the safety and side-effects of MMR?
- Why does my child need a second dose?
- Why aren't the vaccines given separately?
- Are there some children who can't have the MMR vaccine?
- What would happen if we stopped vaccinating?
Expert Group
1. The Health and Community Care Committee published its report into MMR on 28 March 2001. The decision to establish the Group was announced on 29 June, as part of the Executive's formal response to the report into MMR by the Health and Community Care Committee.
2. The Group's remit is to consider matters raised by the Health and Community Care Committee relating to vaccination against mumps, measles and rubella, with particular reference to:
- describing the consequences of pursuing an alternative vaccination policy to MMR;
- reviewing evidence on the apparent rise in the incidence of autism, taking account of the current work of the Medical Research Council;
- and describing the process of vaccine testing and the monitoring of adverse effects.
In all its work, it will have regard to the role and remit of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the Committee on the Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Control Agency.
4. The Expert Group is will meet for the first time today and will produce a report within six months (end of February), consistent with its remit and the expectations of the Health and Community Care Committee.
5. The appointment of The Very Rev Graham Forbes, the Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, as Chairman of the Expert Group, was announced in June.
6. The remaining members of the Expert Group are:
Mr Jonathan Best, Chief Executive, Yorkhill NHS Trust
Dr J Claire Bramley, Epidemiologist, Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health
Dr Clare Brogan, Department of Psychology Glasgow Caledonian University, and National Autistic Society
Dr David Cromie, Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Lanarkshire Health Board
Mr Martyn Evans, Director, Scottish Consumer Council
Dr David Goldblatt, Immunobiology Unit, Institute of Child Health, University of London
Mrs Gillian Hamer-Hodges, National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease
Mrs Jane Hook, Chair, Scottish Society on Autism
Professor Steve Hudson, Professor of Pharmaceutical Care, Strathclyde University
Professor Eve Johnston, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh; Chair of Medical Research Council Autism Review
Ms Jo McCallum, Public Health Nurse Specialist, Department of Public Health, Ayrshire and Arran Health Board
Dr Adrian Margerison, Chairman, Scottish Association of Community Child Health
Dr Andrew Riley, Director of Public Health, Borders Health Board
Professor Lewis Ritchie, General Practitioner; Head of Department of General Practice and Primary Care, University of Aberdeen; Professor of General Practice, University of Aberdeen
Mr Bruce Roberston, Director of Education, Highland Council
Professor Lawrence Weaver, Samson Gemmell Professor and Head of the Department of Child Health, University of Glasgow.
A Director of Social Work will also serve on the Expert Group. Details will be announced shortly.
News Release: SE1995/2001
28 Aug 2001