Issue - items at meetings - Vaccination and Immunisation: Update

Report of the Director of Strategy and Governance on city uptake of vaccination/immunisation programmes (copy attached)

72.1    This item was introduced by Dr Tom Scanlon, Director of Public Health, Brighton & Hove. Dr Scanlon told members that recent years had seen significant improvements in city vaccination and immunisation rates. However, coverage is still too low in several respects, and there have been recent worrying outbreaks of mumps and measles in the city. Take-up rates for the seasonal flu vaccine are also rather disappointing.

72.2    In response to a question concerning how many of the children infected in the recent city measles epidemic has received the MMR jab, Dr Scanlon told members that one child out of 70 examined had received the required two jabs prior to becoming infected with measles.

72.3    In answer to a question regarding the availability of information on potential reactions to vaccines and the relative risk of vaccine-reactions versus the mortality rates of the conditions vaccinated against, Dr Scanlon told members that all this information was readily available via the NHS ‘green books’ on vaccination. However, it was undoubtedly the case that this information was not always as readily available to the public as it ought to be and there is clearly still work to be done here with city GPs and practice nurses.

72.4    In response to a query concerning the local recording of people who ‘opt out’ of vaccinations (as opposed to those who simply fail to take up vaccination opportunities), Dr Scanlon informed the committee that some limited information was recorded via the GP ‘QOF’ assessment system, but that this was by no means definitive.

72.5    members congratulated the public health team on the impressive local take-up of the HPV cervical cancer jab.

72.6    RESOLVED – That the report be noted and local healthcare organisations congratulated on recent improved vaccination/inoculation take-up, particularly in terms of the recently introduced HPV jab.