Martin to discuss low take-up of MMR vaccine

The Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, will meet the director of the National Disease Surveillance Centre this week to discuss the low take-up of the controversial MMR vaccine.

The meeting comes amid suggestions from the head of the centre, Dr Darina O'Flanagan, that Department officials should consider linking child-benefit payments to immunisation vaccine take-up.

A spokeswoman said the Minister was "very concerned at the low take-up of the vaccine".

Dr O'Flanagan said such moves might have to be looked at by the Department of Health if current efforts to improve take-up were ineffective. She stressed, however, that it would not mean parents being "paid" for having their children vaccinated.

The scheme the Government might have to consider applying here was the Australian General Practitioner Immunisation Incentive (GPII) scheme.

Under this a final tranche of benefit payments is dependent on parents either having their child vaccinated or on filling out a "conscientious objection" form, stating the reasons why they have opted not to have their child vaccinated. This form must be signed by their GP.

"I'm not saying we should 'bribe' parents to have their children immunised," Dr O'Flanagan said. We need to look at other systems in other countries and examine how they have improved vaccination take-ups.

"In the United States and Scandinavia they have almost eliminated measles."

Australia's MMR take-up among 12- to 15-month-olds has risen from 53 per cent in 1995 to 92 per cent today since the introduction of the GPII scheme in 1997. In this State take-up is about 72 per cent, a fall from the 83 to 84 per cent achieved two years ago.

The declining take-up is largely attributed to fears of a link between the vaccine and the onset of autism. The most recent studies appear to have disproved a link.

Until take-up was improved here, said Dr O'Flanagan, there would continue to be measles outbreaks and it would be inevitable that a child would die eventually.

There have been 100 cases across the State in the last seven weeks, compared with a normal rate of about 30 in that period.

Most have occurred in south-west Dublin, the midlands and the Western Health Board region, and are directly related to the low take-up of the MMR vaccine, according to the NDSC.

Dr O'Flanagan said a computerised national register of vaccinations needed to be established so a GP in any part of the State could check the immunisation history of any child from any part of the State.

And dissemination of information about vaccines must be improved, she went on. Lack of reliable information was the greatest barrier to parents feeling able to make informed decisions, she said.

Asked why countries such as the United States, Scandinavia and Spain had almost eliminated measles while Ireland apparently could not, Dr O'Flanagan said there were a lot of reasons, but added:

"I do think they have a very strong belief in the communal responsibility of having your own children immunised

"It's not only a benefit for your own child but it's also important for all other children that your child is not going to bring this disease into the community. Here parents just don't seem to be as considerate of that."

In the United States, she pointed out, many states had a 'no shots, no school' policy, where children are not admitted to schools or creches unless they have had all their vaccinations, or could give a good reason for their not having them.