Health Minister Simon Harris launches alliance group to go to war with anti-vaxxers in Ireland and stop ‘falsehoods and lies’
HEALTH Minister Simon Harris today launched a new alliance group to go to war with anti vaxxers in Ireland and stop the spread of dangerous “falsehoods and lies” about vaccines.
The Minister also revealed that he is considering the Government’s options on introducing mandatory vaccines or banning unvaccinated children from schools.
The newly launched Vaccine Alliance is made up of doctors, patient advocates and policy makers and aims to promote and boost the uptake in childhood vaccines such as MMR and HPV.
The number of cases of mumps has skyrocketed in Ireland this year from 575 cases in 2018 to 1,682 so far in 2019.
Speaking at the launch of the Vaccine Alliance, Minister Harris told how he will be meeting with social media companies based in Ireland to encourage them to join the fight against anti-vaxxers.
He said: “These platforms can be such a powerful tool for good or indeed they can be vehicles for falsehoods and lies.
“They need to decide which side they want to be on here. Vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest threats to public health globally.
“That’s not just my view it’s the view of the World Health Organisation and it’s the view of the European Commission.
“Social media companies need to decide which side do you want to be on. Do you want to be on the side of public health or do you want your platforms to be exploited for the spreading of lies and misinformation.”
MANDATORY JABS CONSIDERED
The Minister also revealed that he is considering introducing mandatory vaccines or banning unvaccinated children from schools and is working with the Attorney General’s office and the Health Research Board to consider the Government’s options.
He said: “I do have a very open mind in relation to the issue of mandatory vaccines and I see this as something that’s being raised in lots of other countries and I think Ireland needs to be a part of that debate.
“To me, it is irresponsible, it does not sit well with me that you would send your child to a crèche without that child being vaccinated knowing not only are you putting their health at risk but you are putting other children’s health.
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“When it gets to the issue of schools obviously people have a constitutional right to an education so these are rights that need to be balanced but there is also a public health issue.
“I have received preliminary advice from the Attorney General. It is true to say that there is things we could do in this space but it’s also true to say that there are other things that could be constitutionally complex.”
The Minister also revealed that the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland have renamed their Medal for Patient Advocacy the Laura Brennan Medal in recognition of the late advocate's working in increasing HPV vaccine uptake.