Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle’s office for allowing time for this topical issue. I am glad the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, is here and I congratulate her on her recent appointment. I am sure she will do an excellent job.

Over the past nine months numerous parents in County Kerry have contacted me with concerns about their daughters who have received the human papillomavirus, HPV, vaccination to prevent cervical cancer and who believe that serious side-effects have affected their daughters as a result. The number of people who have contacted me leads me to believe this may be more than coincidence, but I cannot say that definitively or prove it. It cannot, however, be disproved.

I and Deputy Healy-Rae feel that the parents of these young ladies need to be made aware of the potential side-effects, of the cases that have occurred and of the people who have linked this vaccination to their illnesses. I have received responses to parliamentary questions showing that the Department has looked over this, that the European Commission has looked into it and a link cannot be proven. To prove or disprove a link would take a long time and a lot of money. In the meantime, at the very least, parents should be made aware of the number of cases of potential side-effects and the number of people potentially affected.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to convey the apologies of the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, to Deputies Griffith, Healy-Rae and Lahart. Unfortunately, he is not able to be here and has asked me to deal with this very important matter. I thank Deputy Griffin for his kind words of congratulation.

I thank Deputies Griffin and Healy-Rae for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on this very important issue. The HPV vaccine, which was introduced in 2010, protects girls from cervical cancer when they are adults. It is available free of charge from the HSE for all girls in the first year of secondary school. I am aware of claims of an association between the HPV vaccine and a number of conditions being experienced by a group of young women. I want to provide assurances to them and their families that they are eligible to seek medical attention and to access appropriate health and social care services irrespective of the cause of their symptoms. The HSE is currently developing a care pathway for young people who are experiencing symptoms of this type and will be in a position to facilitate access to specialist services tailored to the needs of each individual.

It appears that some girls first suffered symptoms around the same time that they received the HPV vaccine and understandably some parents have connected the vaccine to their children's condition. I wish to again emphasise why HPV was introduced in 2010. Each year in Ireland around 300 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and there are approximately 70 deaths per year. The HPV vaccine protects against two high-risk types of HPV that cause 73% of all cervical cancers. The vaccine used in the school immunisation programme is Gardasil and more than 200,000 girls have received it since its introduction. Gardasil is a fully tested vaccine which was licensed by the European Medicines Agency in 2006. While no medicine, including vaccines, is entirely without risk, the safety profile of Gardasil has been continuously monitored since it was first authorised nationally and at EU level.

In November 2015, the European Medicines Agency completed a detailed scientific review of the HPV vaccine. The review, in which the Health Products Regulatory Authority participated, focused on rare reports of two conditions, namely, complex regional pain syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. The review found no evidence of a causal link between the vaccine and the two conditions. On 12 January 2016, the European Commission endorsed the conclusion of the European Medicines Agency that there is no need to change the way HPV vaccines are used or to amend the product information, which is now binding in all member states. Health care professionals are advised to continue using HPV vaccines in accordance with the current product information.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response, which is very similar to one I received about two weeks ago to a written Parliamentary Question. We could argue until the cows come home about whether the vaccine works and what causes the side-effects. We will never know. I want to be very clear: I am not advocating for people to avail of or refuse the vaccine. I do not want to be responsible for someone not availing of a vaccine which could save her life down the road. However, it is necessary that people be aware of those who have said they suffered side-effects. I feel strongly about this because of the sheer number of people I have met who have linked the vaccine to their side-effects. In the case of the MMR vaccine it was proved that there was no link to certain side-effects, but that does not mean it is not possible with the HPV vaccine. I ask the Minister of State, who has responsibility for health promotion, to at least make sure that people are fully informed, not just in terms of what the manufacturers have stated but of the number of reported cases of possible links between the vaccine and side-effects. The least people deserve is to be fully informed in their decision-making on what they think is right for their daughters or what girls think is right for themselves.

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Healy-Rae and Griffin. It is quite clear that their motivation is out of concern for young girls and their families. It is something that will have to be taken very seriously. I can assure them that I will bring their concerns back to the relevant section in my Department and to the Minister, Deputy Harris, for consideration.