OUTRAGE AS TB JABS AXED
HSE plans to ditch scheme.. but killer disease on rise
THE Government is set to axe the TB vaccine scheme, the Irish Mirror has learned.
An HSE report on whether the programme should restart – after being stalled for four years over supply issues – has been sent to the Department of Health. And sources told the Irish Mirror Minister Simon Harris will be advised to scrap it.
Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers said: “It is disturbing the HSE is ignoring the World Health Organisation advice.”
Statistics reveal the number of people dying here from the disease has risen by 50%.
IRELAND is poised to scrap its stalled TB vaccine scheme despite the number of deaths rising by 50%.
Government inaction has already left children here without inoculation since 2015 when our supplies ran out.
However, kids in the North continued to get the BCG jab after the UK sourced a new supplier.
Now a HSE report on whether the scheme should be recommenced – having been shelved for the past four years – has been sent to the Department of Health.
And sources have told the Irish Mirror the HSE will recommend Health Minister Simon Harris should scrap the programme altogether.
The shocking news comes as statistics reveal people dying from the disease soared from 10 deaths in 2016 to 15 in 2017.
Fianna Fail TD Jack Chambers has lashed out at Mr Harris for letting the scheme lapse, because he says it is against World Health Organisation advice.
He added last night: “The inaction by the HSE and Department of Health on this issue is deeply disappointing,
especially given it is a full year since I highlighted this problem and because we have been experiencing supply issues since 2014.
“It is not acceptable for our national immunisation policy to be completely derailed because of a lack of supply of a particular vaccine from the company who previously supplied it.
“The Health Minister is effectively allowing the country to be held to ransom by one supplier.
“In the UK, they were able to identify another supplier and children there continued to receive the vaccine.
“The HSE and minister need to explain why we have not been able to secure another supplier in this regard.
“It is disturbing that the HSE is ignoring the advice from the World Health Organisation who has said wide-scale TB vaccination programmes are a major advance in the control of the disease.”
In recent years the health authorities claimed supply shortages led to the scheme being sidelined – even though the UK had sourced alternative supplies.
For example, this means kids in Newry have been getting the BCG jab since 2015, when stocks ran out here – while youngsters from nearby Dundalk or Drogheda were not.
A Department of Health spokesman defended the decision to discontinue the BCG school vaccinations scheme.
He said: “In 2013 a joint recommendation from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee and the National TB Advisory Committee proposed moving from a
universal neonatal BCG vaccination programme to a selective BCG vaccination programme targeting high-risk groups only.
“Following this, the Department of Health requested HIQA [Health Information and Quality Authority] to undertake a HTA [health technology assessment].
“This reported in 2015 and noted that selective vaccination was more effective and less costly than universal
vaccination. Due to a lack of vaccine from the sole EU supplier, the BCG vaccine has not been available in Ireland since April 2015.
“Given that both aforementioned reports predate the discontinuation of vaccine supply, the HSE have recently been requested [ January 2019] to undertake an updated review of the epidemiology of TB in
Ireland, taking account of the public health impact of no vaccination since April 2015.
“This will be used to inform an updated recommendation to the Department regarding the future provision of BCG vaccination in Ireland.”
IRISH kids may not be inoculated against deadly TB because the Government is planning to scrap the BCG jabs scheme – despite the fact 50% more people died from it in 2017 compared to 2016.
The disease is no less dangerous now than it was a hundred years ago and the decision to stop the jabs is baffling.
It is true the number of people passing away from TB is less than it was but that’s largely due to these vaccinations and the availability of antibiotics.
In recent years, the health authorities claimed supply shortages led to the scheme being sidelined – even though the UK had sourced alternative supplies.
There’s been a rise of “anti-vax” movements on social media, with people claiming the jabs can cause more damage than they prevent.
It’s more important than ever to keep on top of them and to make sure your kids are safe.
TB can put you out of action for months and if it was to spread again it could be lethal.
The spread of mumps in Donegal recently should be warning enough about the dangers of not vaccinating.
And what happens when a disease that’s so easily preventable puts people out of work in our hospitals, schools or police?
Scrapping one vaccination could lead to more being phased out and that would undoubtably be a disaster waiting to happen.