A Dundalk doctor will this morning begin offering parents the option of having their children inoculated with single doses of the MMR vaccine.
Amid ongoing concerns that the combined MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine may be linked to the onset of autism, Dr Mary Grehan is the first Irish GP to offer the option of having the vaccines separately. "We've already had quite a number of enquiries about the new service," she said yesterday.
Speaking from her home in Dundalk, Dr Grehan explained that parents would be able to import the vaccine themselves from a company in England on a named-patient basis.
She said there had been an "ongoing battle with the Department of Health" about getting "full information" about the possible side effects of the combined MMR vaccine.
"The biggest problem is that the Department is not treating parents as if they have any intelligence. Too many parents are saying there's a problem with combined MMR. If they know they have a problem [with autism in a child] and they can trace that back to the time they got the vaccination, those parents should be treated as intelligent, concerned parents."
Stressing that she was not making a judgement on the safety of the combined vaccine, she said the issues were of choice for parents who had concerns, and about getting full information. She will still offer the combined MMR vaccine. Dr Grehan has had enquiries from other GPs throughout the State interested in offering single dose MMR vaccines, she said.
Dr Grehan, who is an urban district councillor, yesterday also confirmed she intends standing in the next general election.
