Measles outbreak and MMR vaccinations: live webchat with Department of Health director of immunisation Professor David Salisbury, Tuesday 9 April, 2-3pm

[GeraldineMumsnet]

In light of the measles outbreaks in South Wales and higher than average levels of measles in some areas of England, and concerns reflected in MNers' discussions, we've invited Professor David Salisbury, the government's director of immunisation, back to MN to be our webchat guest tomorrow, Tuesday 9 April, at 2pm.

Please post any questions you have about the MMR vaccine for your children, or yourself, to Professor Salisbury.

Thank you.

^the official line would appear to be to go and vaccinate

that is the most sensible course of action in the middle of a measles outbreak though.^

Well it's certainly the best way to prevent measles in your child but if he wants vaccine-refusers to vaccinate he has to engage with people's concerns. Not just ignore them. Most people's decisions not to vaccinate aren't about measles itself, it's about issues with the vaccination (and often personal experience - you can't just tell people it didn't happen).

Probably budget Catherina

Go to your GPs and ask for the product leaflet that comes with every MMR vaccine and read the side effects, now compare it to the one the Government give you and ask why they omit all the other reactions. Does the doctor or nurse read the side effects and if not why? These are the drug companies list of side effects. If you purchase any medicine you get one of these leaflets. If you get any other medicine at the doctors surgery the chemist gives you the product leaflet. Why does the government keep the product leaflet from the parents and produce their own? Most doctors refuse to fill in the yellow card when you tell them your child has had a reaction to the vaccine. This has happened to me and other parents.

Read CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS below.

www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/m/mmr_ii/mmr_ii_pi.pdf

Does the nurse do as stated in this leaflet at the surgery?

Really judey? do you mean the 8 week vacs?

if he wants vaccine-refusers to vaccinate he has to engage with people's concerns

That is true and I am frustrated this doesn't happen/happen enough.

go vaccinate,

are the surgeries able to produce vaccinations then!?
Like the whole whooping cough problem?

Does anyone else feel just as confused? I swing between feeling the scare mongery, not being told the truth and just general confusion!

Where is Dr Ranji when you need him?

But that is on the back of studies which it says were "largely inadequate". "Largely inadequate" studies are by definition not "adequate", not "good enough". White man, he speak with forked tongue.

totally confused. I dont particuarlly want ds at 19 to have the MMR again because of confusion over whether mumps has worn off (and I suspect payment would be involved). If Dr Salisbury was vague then I expect the GP will be clueless as well. But nor do I want an adult male to get mumps. When ds was little the vaccination schedule was completely different to now so fuck knows what he had and when and what (red book was lost a long time ago).

Do you reckon he could have a blood test to check for immunity to measles and mumps? Would it cost money? Would it be accurate? Is it too early to open wine?

Ok so just to clarify the manufacturers and the gove guidelines are conflicting?
Sorry BF and sorting a toddler!

tbh, there was nothing in todays webchat which would persuade me to go and give my 8 month old the mmr (even in an outbreak area).

conversely, there was a lot unanswered/unaddressed/plain ignored which would (if I were wavering at all) make me think twice.

why are the stats on the latest outbreak not available? Dr David must have known he would be asked vaccinated/unvaccinated rates, and yet he eas unable (or unwilling?) to be anything other than vague about answering. how is that meant to reassure people?

the bluster about the urabe strain was also astonishing.

@saintlyjimjams

OMG silverfrog you were deleted!!! Was that the one where you said he didn't really answer anything.

Shame on you MNHQ :waits for post to go pop:

The post wasn't deleted because of what it said but because of the way it was said. Of course folks are allowed to disagree/scrutinise/question - there's loads of of that going on here - but we thought the "thanks for giving up your precious time" was rude and was therefore deleted for breaking our webchat guidelines.

silverfrog I don't think all GPs are reluctant to test. I had mumps symptoms last year and phoned my GP - she agreed I should stay at home and I was sent a swab testing kit.

It wasn't mumps, funnily enough.

when I took dd1 for her mmr, I was not allowed ot see the package insert (until I insisted, and the nurse had a tantrum and threw it at me) - I was supposed to sign for the vaccine, stating informed consent, without having anything at all to read.

there has been nothing to suggest that I would be any more informed if I took ds along now, 6 years later.

Okay, I withdraw "bitching", and will rephrase as "Please take the generic anti-vac 'ooh, chance to take a pop at the Government' elsewhere." If you feel that applies to you, then feel free to get huffy about it.

You know how these chats generally work - there is never time to answer all the questions, and the more people there are trying to turn it into a bunfight, the less chance anyone in or near an outbreak area has of getting their question read, let alone answered.

Justine, I did NOT say 'thanks for giving up your precious time.'

I said
'well, that was informative .

thanks to Dr David for giving up his precious time. '

please do not misrepresent in that way.

I agree with silver frog I don't feel any better about it at all.

How disappointing. I really didn't learn anything from that.

"But that is on the back of studies which it says were "largely inadequate". "Largely inadequate" studies are by definition not "adequate", not "good enough". White man, he speak with forked tongue."

This was intended to be a reply to Catharina JTV about the re-assurances in Cochrane's plain language summary, which aren't worth the paper they are not printed on.

I am also not surprised re Catharina that Dr Salisbury does not address refusers' concerns about adverse reactions. The policy has been hard nosed denial for 25 years - how can he change now? What could he possibly say?

I have never had problems to get a package insert in the UK, didn't even have to be forceful. The problem was to find someone to give us the vaccine we wanted, between a clueless GP and an overworked nurse who hung up on me (probably assuming she was dealing with a pesky vaccine refuser )...

I don't think anyone was trying to turn it into a bunfight - just asking for further clarification of vague answers. We knew 'most' children in the current outbreak are unvaccinated (it would be very worrying indeed if they weren't) but it's valid to ask whether 25% have been. People from both sides of the 'fence' were asking for clarification of the figures.

it surprised me, Catherina - I wasn't even a non-vaccinator back then (it was the first in a long line of many things which made me question how I was being treated, though).

dd1 had been for all of her catch-up jabs (only catch up as we had lived abroad, and therefore she was 'out of schedule"), which also entailed a fair few repeats.

everything bang on time, until the mmr, which she had 6 weeks late, as she had been unwell.

no reason for the stroppiness at all. no reason to think I would refuse (I am just anal about not signing anything when I haven't done what it is asking me to state I have done, iyswim) - just a blanket 'oh, no, you don't want that, just sign here dearie, and we'll get on with it', and then a ridiculous stand off where she refused to hand it over.

all most odd.

Most disappointed in the answers tbh.

My children were not given the mmr with the backing of my gp due to family history but now they are older and with the current outbreak i was reconsidering and actually have an app.on the 18th april to discuss mmr and get them done. This has left me feeling confused and wary.

Not helpful at all.

I'm intrigued at how MNHQ can tell our tone through the computer