Paul Hutchison National Party Health Spokesman

08 February 2005

King must reassure public about vaccine

The Minister of Health must act quickly to reassure New Zealanders about the safety of the meningococcal vaccine, after a media website published an article alleging its effectiveness had been misrepresented, says National's Health spokesman, Paul Hutchison.

An article published on the Scoop website says the meningococcal vaccine is untested and experimental, and asks for a royal commission of inquiry into the vaccination programme.

"The Minister of Health must move quickly to refute the claims, and come up with the evidence to prove the programme is sound," says Dr Hutchison.

"If there is no basis to the allegations, then they are simply scare-mongering and should be quashed immediately, before people start to believe it.

"The Minister cannot afford to stay silent on the issue, while parents become more and more concerned about exactly what is being injected into their children," says Dr Hutchison.

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