MMR wrangle delays crucial vaccine verdict

CAMILLO FRACASSINI HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
cfracassini@scotlandonsunday.com

THE long-awaited report on the safety of the MMR jab in Scotland has been delayed following a serious split in the government group set up to study the controversial vaccine.

Members of the expert committee are deeply divided over whether to offer parents single vaccines in the face of a huge slump in MMR inoculation rates across Scotland.

Their report on the safety of the triple measles, mumps and rubella vaccine - which will influence immunisation policy north of the Border - will now be delayed for at least a month.

The setback has dismayed health chiefs and politicians, who said it was crucial the parents of young children were given clear guidance by the government as soon as possible.

The urgent need for clarification on MMR has been made even more pressing by a measles outbreak in south London, which has affected 25 children.

Sources on the MMR expert group in Scotland say it now looks likely it will make a majority recommendation to continue to give parents no alternative to the triple vaccine.

This is despite opposition from some members of the panel who believe parents should be offered separate jabs. The MMR vaccine has been linked to autism and bowel disease.

The 19 group members are now making a last-ditch effort to reach a consensus, but sources are already warning that some of the experts could walk out or refuse to back majority recommendations - leading to accusations of a whitewash and leaving the Scottish Executive’s MMR policy in disarray.

There were heated discussions at the most recent meeting of the MMR panel last week. One member said: "The report has had to be delayed. We have a meeting scheduled for March so it will not be available by the end of February as was planned.

"We had a full and frank exchange of views at the last meeting over whether to provide single vaccines on request or only to special groups.

"Single vaccines are already available but only if you can pay for them.

"But what about areas of social deprivation, which are the most likely place for an epidemic, where people simply don’t have the money to pay for single vaccines privately? This is a real social justice issue."

Another member of the group - which includes representatives from the Scottish Society for Autism and the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, as well as government experts - revealed the deep divisions between the opposing factions.

The source said: "The majority, having discussed single vaccines as an option in special cases, are unlikely to endorse them in the final report.

"My gut feeling is that the group will go for the status quo even though there are strongly held views among a minority who believe there should be a change in policy. Views are hardening."

The insider added: "We are going to try to resolve the issue of whether there is a better policy. If we can’t agree that, I don’t know what we will do.

"The last thing we want to do is split the group."

Bill Welsh, of Action Against Autism, said: "There are certainly people who are prepared to walk out of the group - it is the policy of the Scottish Society for Autism, which has a member on the group, that parents should be offered the single vaccine.

"Any recommendation for anything other than this simple step will be regarded by the parents of young children in Scotland as another fudge."

In Scotland the proportion of children given the triple inoculation has already fallen to 86% - well below the minimum 90% level recommended by the World Health Organisation to provide nationwide ‘herd immunity’.

In the Highlands, which has the lowest uptake of MMR in Scotland, fewer than 75% of children have been vaccinated.

Tory health spokeswoman and Highlands & Islands MSP Mary Scanlon last night condemned the suggestion that parents, who have been deserting the combined MMR jab, would not be given the choice of single vaccines.

She said: "The expert group was set up to address serious parental concerns, not ride roughshod over them.

"Many parents are holding back from the MMR vaccine awaiting a decision by this group. A measles outbreak would be devastating and could lead to fatalities.

"I would urge those on the group with serious concerns about MMR to think only of parents facing a critical decision and strongly consider giving them the choice of single vaccines."

Shadow health minister Nicola Sturgeon added: "There must be no whitewash. The expert group’s report has to help rebuild public confidence in the immunisation programme, not undermine it.

"The report should be produced on time - this is a huge issue and there are many parents who are genuinely at a loss as to what to do."

Yesterday Dr Peter Copp, the only GP in Scotland offering separate MMR vaccines, warned that parents could take legal action in the event of a measles outbreak because they had been given no alternative to the triple jab.

Copp, who gave evidence to the expert group, added: "I am not at all surprised that the group is divided. When I gave my evidence I could see a number of the members had already made up their minds.

"There are already enough unvaccinated children in Scotland to sustain an outbreak of measles and, at worst, an epidemic.

"Unless parents are given an alternative to MMR they will continue to vote with their feet.

"The first, second or third measles death might well lead to parents, who were denied access to the single vaccines because they couldn’t afford them, taking legal action."

Yesterday the Prime Minister faced renewed calls to reveal whether his son Leo had been given the MMR jab.

Despite earlier reports that Leo had been given the injection last year, it is believed he was vaccinated on January 22. Blair has refused to comment, saying it is a private matter.

Meanwhile, three children have been confirmed with measles in Streatham, south London, and another 22 are showing symptoms of the disease in the area, in which only 65% of parents have given their children the MMR jab.

Last night a spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "The expert group was asked to report by February 28 but we are now not expecting its report until March.

"We cannot comment on the workings of the group. Our policy with regard to MMR remains unchanged."