York | Archive | 2002 | August | 7
From the Evening Press, first published Wednesday 7th Aug 2002.
THE first clinic to offer single vaccinations in York as an alternative to the controversial MMR jab has been inundated with queries from concerned parents.
More than 120 parents in the York area have contacted the Direct Remedies mobile clinic in the past week - three times the number of inquiries received for the first north east visit.
The Evening Press reported last week that Dr Damitha Ratnasinghe would visit the city to offer an alternative to parents concerned about suggested links between the measles, mumps and rubella triple jab and autism and bowel disease.
Regional co-ordinator Leigh Scully arranged for Dr Ratnasinghe, a London-based NHS paediatrician who carries out private vaccinations for Direct Remedies, to visit York after she realised there was nowhere in the city for concerned parents to get the single vaccines.
She said: "The response has been amazing, the phone calls have been non-stop since the article appeared in the Evening Press last week.
"The government says MMR is totally safe, but people are concerned and parents just want choices, that's what we are offering them."
Of the 120 that called for information, about 60 people have booked their children in to the clinic, which is being held on Friday, September 6, at Novotel, in Fishergate, from 9am. The full programme of vaccinations costs a maximum of £255.
Dr Ratnasinghe said people had the choice of which vaccination to accept, as the single vaccines could be legally imported.
He said he was "fulfilling a need" in the communities where he offered the single jab vaccines for members of the public
"In many cases these are parents who would otherwise have said no to giving their children the multiple vaccine, leaving them vulnerable and unprotected against serious and sometimes deadly diseases," he added.
Dr Louise Coole, consultant in communicable disease control for North Yorkshire, said about 86 per cent of children aged five or under in North Yorkshire had received their first MMR jab, while 75 per cent had received their second.
She said separate vaccinations could mean children receiving up to six injections, increasing the likelihood that they would not complete the programme, and leaving them vulnerable to disease for a longer length of time.
"Parents should be mindful that they know exactly what vaccines they are receiving and what follow-up children will be offered, as well as being aware of the cost implications," she said.
A second clinic may be set up on Monday, September 9, if there is sufficient demand. For more inormation phone Mrs Scully on 0191 289 5650 for information.
Updated: 11:51 Wednesday, August 07, 2002
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