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MMR Vaccinations
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for the last five years for which information is available the serious adverse reactions to vaccines containing components against mumps, measles or rubella; if he will list the trial products which have been withdrawn; and if he will make a statement. [80035]
Ms Jowell: Drug Analysis Prints, listing all serious suspected reactions reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1998 for vaccines containing components against mumps, measles or rubella, have been placed in the Library along with an information sheet to aid interpretation.
There have been no trial products withdrawn or licences for these vaccines suspended or revoked in the last five years.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each of the years since 1969 in which vaccinations or revised vaccinations were introduced for mumps, measles and rubella. [80032]
Ms Jowell:
Measles vaccine for infants was introduced into the United Kingdom immunisation programme in 1968. Rubella immunisation was introduced in 1970 for girls aged 10 to 14 and non-immune women. Single antigen mumps vaccine has never been a part of the United Kingdom's immunisation programme. Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 months was introduced in October 1988; this replaced single antigen measles vaccine. Routine rubella immunisation for girls aged 10 to 14 was discontinued in October 1995. A second dose of MMR vaccine at pre-school entry was introduced in October 1996. In addition, a special, one-off immunisation campaign of children aged 5 to 16 was conducted in November 1994 with measles/rubella vaccine to avert a measles epidemic.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list vaccines licensed since 1 February 1987 for mumps, measles and rubella, or a combination
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of these, indicating for each product (a) the date on which a licence was granted, (b) the conditions for which it was licensed and (c) if the product licence is current. [80036]
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Ms Jowell:
The available information listing the vaccines licensed since February 1987 and still current is shown in the table.
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| Product Name | Date of Grant |
|---|---|
| Pluserix MMR Vaccine Injection with Diluent(17) | 17 June 1988 |
| Rubavax Rubella Live Vaccine(17) | 18 September 1989 |
| Measavax Vaccine Injection(17) | 18 September 1989 |
| Immravax Measles Mumps Rubella Live Attenuated Vaccine Injection(17) | 18 September 1989 |
| Rubilin - Rubella Vaccine Live BP | 28 February 1992 |
| Immravax/Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine Live BP | 18 October 1993 |
| Rimevax Measles Vaccine | 25 October 1993 |
| Mevilin-L Measles Vaccine Live BP | 6 January 1994 |
| Eolarix Vaccine Injection | 22 July 1994 |
| Merieux Measles and Rubella Vaccine Injection | 1 September 1994 |
| Measavax Vaccine 1000TCID50/Dose | 13 October 1994 |
| Rubavax Injection [At Least] 100TCID50 | 14 October 1994 |
| Almevax Rubella Vaccine 1000TCID50/Dose(17) | 2 November 1994 |
| MSD Meruvax II Vaccine(17) | 2 November 1994 |
| Mumpsvax Lyophilised Powder for Injection 20000IU(17) | 2 November 1994 |
| Ervevax Rubella Vaccine Live EP RA 27/3 Strain 1000TCID50 | 2 November 1994 |
| Pluserix MMR Vaccine Injection(17) | 9 February 1995 |
| Pariorix Vaccine(17) | 20 February 1995 |
| MSD Attenuvax Vaccine Injection [At least] 1000TCID50(17) | 24 March 1995 |
| M-M-R II Vaccine Injection(17) | 24 March 1995 |
| Meruvax II Vaccine 1000 TCID50 | 7 April 1995 |
| Attenuvax Injection | 7 June 1995 |
| M-M-R Vaccine Injection | 1 March 1996 |
| Mumpsvax Vaccine Injection 20000TCID50/Dose | 1 March 1996 |
| Priorix Vaccine Injection | 4 December 1997 |
(17) Indicates that the product licence has been cancelled.
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Information relating to the conditions for which the products were licensed will be placed in the Library shortly.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what announcements have been made by his Department since 2 May 1997 relating to vaccination against mumps, measles and rubella; and on which date each of these announcements was made. [80033]
Ms Jowell:
Two announcements about measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine have been issued by the Department in the form of press releases from the then Chief Medical Officer, Sir Kenneth Calman. The first press release was issued on 12 March 1998 and stated that there was no scientific evidence to support giving measles, mumps and rubella vaccines in separate doses. The second was issued on 24 March 1998 and gave the Chief Medical Officer's conclusions following the meeting of an independent expert scientific group convened by the Medical Research Council (MRC). The group looked at the suggested link between measles, measles vaccine or MMR immunisation and either Crohn's disease or autism. Sir Kenneth said in the press release
Copies of the press releases are available in the Library.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many suspected adverse reactions to mumps, rubella and measles vaccines there were in the last five years for which figures are available. [80034]
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Ms Jowell:
Suspected adverse reactions reports to measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are given in the table:
"Based on the views of the experts at the MRC meeting, and on previous material that I have studied, I have concluded there is no link between measles, measles vaccine or MMR immunisation and either Crohn's Disease or autism".
| Year | All suspected adverse reactions (serious and non-serious) where MMR vaccine was indicated as a suspect drug | Number of reports where MMR vaccine was indicated as suspect drug |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 224 | 140 |
| 1995 | 237 | 129 |
| 1996 | 242 | 141 |
| 1997 | 331 | 209 |
| 1998 | 232 | 145 |
A report of a suspected adverse drug reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the vaccine. Each report relates to one patient. Patients may have more than one suspected reaction and the number of reactions given exceeds the number of patients affected as seen above. The number of reports is variable due to retrospective reporting.
Chemotherapy Patients (Wigs)
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to review the conditions attaching to the prescribing of wigs for patients receiving chemotherapy treatment; [79908]
- (2) what conditions his Department attaches to the prescribing of wigs for (a) in-patients and (b) day-care patients receiving chemotherapy treatment. [79907]
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Mr. Hutton: A wig may be provided as part of National Health Service treatment if it is considered to be clinically necessary. As with the supply of medication, patients will qualify for free wigs if they are hospital in-patients.
Day patients or out-patients may qualify for full or partial exemption from charges on income grounds. If patients are in receipt of Income Support, Disability Working Allowance, Family Credit or Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, they will be entitled to wigs free of charge. People who are not automatically exempt from charges may claim help with health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. We have no current plans to review these arrangements.
Patient Examinations
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to remind hospital doctors of the necessity of washing their hands after examining patients. [80047]
Ms Jowell: Health Circular 1999/049, which was issued to the National Health Service on 5 March this year, referred to and enclosed a copy of advice on handwashing produced by representatives of the relevant professional bodies. Copies of both the Health Circular and the advice are available in the Library.
Speech Therapists
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the salaries paid to speech and language therapists in the NHS; who advises him on such salaries; what discussions he had with speech and language therapists before deciding on their pay settlement for 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement. [80049]
Mr. Denham: In deciding pay for National Health Service staff, the Government need to take account of fairness, affordability, the prevailing economic climate and recruitment and retention. We have offered a pay increase of 2.8 per cent. to most NHS staff in 1999-2000, plus additional increases for staff groups where there is evidence of recruitment and retention problems. Discussions with the representatives of speech and language therapists as with representatives of other staff groups are continuing.
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