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January 29, 2003

Who or what is "Martin"? - SM

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Martin to Discuss Low Take-Up of MMR Vaccines"

Irish Times (www.ireland.com) (01/27/03) P. 3; Holland, Kitty

Medical and government officials in Ireland will meet this week to discuss the low take-up of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine among Ireland's children.  The discussion comes as Dr. Darina O'Flanagan, director of the Disease Surveillance Center, has suggested that child-benefit payments be linked to vaccine take-up.  The idea, she explained, is not to "bribe" the parents into getting their kids immunized, but it would pit final benefit payments against whether the parents had their kids vaccinated or signed an objection form stating their reasons for not having their child vaccinated.  The model for this idea is the Australian General Practitioner Immunization Incentive (GPII) scheme. Since the 1997 introduction of GPII in Australia, MMR take-up among 12- to 15-month-old children rose from 53 percent in 1995 to 92 percent at present.  Ireland's MMR take-up among the same age group fell from an average of 83.5 percent two years ago to 72 percent this year; the decline is largely attributed to publicity allegedly linking the MMR vaccine to autism.  Countries including the United States, Scandinavia, and Spain have nearly eliminated measles, commented Dr. O'Flanagan, largely because those populations have a very strong belief in "communal responsibility" of having their children immunized so that others do not become sick.

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