Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Health the action his Department is taking to counter anti-vaccination campaigns. [29070/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As Deputies are aware, immunisation is regarded as one of the safest and most cost-effective of health care interventions. It is a recognised simple and safe way of protecting people against harmful diseases such as meningitis, measles, mumps and rubella and influenza. The importance of vaccination is acknowledged by all the major international health organisations, particularly the World Health Organisation. While no medicine is entirely without risk, the safety of vaccines, as with all medicines, is carefully monitored. The Health Products Regulatory Authority assesses the safety of medicines in Ireland and as Minister I can assure you and the public that the scientific evidence is clear that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the known side effects.

I am very disappointed that the uptake of certain vaccines, which have been the subject of recent campaigns, has dropped. Most notably HPV vaccine uptake rates have fallen from 87% in 2014/15 to 72% in 2015/16. This is a very serious development as a large number of girls are now at risk of developing cervical cancer later in their lives. My Department and the HSE are working to counter the misinformation concerning vaccines that are undermining our national vaccination programmes. We must ensure that the public and healthcare providers have full information regarding the safety and effectiveness of vaccination programmes. The HSE is implementing a strategy aimed at increasing vaccine uptake. An example of this was seen at the recent National HPV Vaccine Conference where the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and the work to increase uptake by girls as part of the Schools Immunisation programme was outlined. I attended this Conference to not only demonstrate my support but also to clearly outline the priority my Department is placing on vaccine uptake in Ireland.

I regularly speak publically and use social media to highlight this issue. You will also be interested to note that the forthcoming National Healthcare Quality Reporting System has a key focus on childhood vaccines. Information on uptake rates and safety is provided for the MMR, meningococcal C, seasonal influenza and the HPV vaccines. This Annual Report will be published by my Department later this month.