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Professor John Robertson OBA
From Public Health Scotland today – Whooping cough vaccine. Protect your baby from whooping cough:
It’s good to see no resting on laurels here.
In July 2024, from the BMJ:
Nine infants died from whooping cough in England between November last year and the end of May 2024, the UK Health Security Agency has reported. Altogether a total of 7599 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in England this year, with cases continuing to rise from 555 in January to 920 in February, 1427 in March, 2106. https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1545.full
I’ll be accused of being a ghoul for this but by the same folk who love to blame our drug deaths on the SNP Government, so from our regular contributor stewartb in May 2024:
My suspicion – because I’ve never come across anything about whooping cough in the mainstream media that supposedly ‘serves’ Scotland – is that there may well be a favourable story on Scotland’s health services somewhere in the above from Sky News today and indeed there is!
From Public Health Scotland on 26 March 2024 (‘Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland – Quarter and year ending 31 December 2023’) , we learn that the vaccination for pertussis, or whooping cough since October 2017, has been ‘part of the combined 6-in-1 vaccine, consisting of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib and Hepatitis B. A booster dose is also given to children at around 3 years 4 months of age.’
Here are the 2023 take-up rates for the combined 6-in-1 vaccine in Scotland (https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/26192/2024-03-26-childhood-immunisation-report.pdf) :
- ‘In 2023, uptake by 12 months of age of the complete 3 dose course of the 6-in-1 vaccine was 95.0%, down from 95.7% in 2022 and 96.4% in 2021. However, uptake rates have remained at or above 95% throughout the last decade.’
- Uptake ranged from 93.0% in the most deprived areas (SIMD quintile 1) to 97.4% in the least deprived areas (SIMD quintile 5), a difference in uptake of 4.4 percentage points.’
- ‘Uptake by 24 months in 2023 was 96.2% ..’.
‘Protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio can wane over time. … From the age of 3 years 4 months, children should be invited to receive booster doses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio (given as a single injection, the 4-in-1 booster vaccine) and a second dose of MMR vaccine.’
- ‘Uptake rates of both vaccines remained above 90% between 2012 and 2022. From a high in 2014 (4-in-1, 94.2%; MMR second dose, 93.4%), there were slight decreases in uptake each year until 2019 when rates increased slightly. In the latest year, uptake was 89.6% for the 4-in-1 vaccine and 89.1% for the second dose of MMR (Figure 5), where uptake fell below 90% for the first time since 2011.’
Rates of uptake for all childhood vaccinations across the UK are available for comparison: see the table given in NHS England (28 September, 2023) Childhood Vaccination Coverage Statistics, England, 2022-23 (see https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2022-23/6in-1-vaccine ).
Inspection of the table will show that on every metric (bar two) Scotland has the highest percentage take-up rates of the UK countries. (Scotland’s rate is slightly lower than Wales on 12 month coverage for PVC (Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine) and equal to Wales on coverage at 5 years for first MMR1 dose.)
Specifically on the 6-in-1 vaccine relevant to preventing whooping cough, the figure for Scotland is 94.5% and for England 91.8%. The figure for the most derived areas of Scotland was 93%. At 24 months the uptake of the same vaccine in Scotland was 96.5% and in England 92.6.
Reflections? Firstly, there is no room for complacency in Scotland on the subject of vaccine take-up.. Secondly, once again the available facts about Scotland’s health services run counter to the gaslighting of Scotland’s electorate perpetrated by Unionist politicians and their mainstream media allies.
What other factor may be helping in Scotland? This:
Whooping cough medicine shortages – Pharmacists in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients
In the Guardian 22 May 2024 with not a reference to Scotland or anywhere in Scotland:
UK pharmacists demand powers to change whooping cough prescriptions. Exclusive: Some pharmacies have turned away families because they have run out of the drug clarithromycin. Pharmacists are calling for fresh powers to provide patients with alternative prescriptions as they warned that drugs shortages are hampering their ability to tackle whooping cough.
More than 2,700 cases have been reported across England so far in 2024 – more than three times the number recorded in the whole of last year. But some pharmacies have been forced to turn away families seeking help for their children because they have run out of clarithromycin, a key antibiotic used to treat the condition. It means parents are having to shop around for prescriptions from other pharmacies or go back to their GP and ask for a different antibiotic, leading to potentially dangerous delays.
From the Guardian on May 9 ,2024, not Anglocentric, for once:
Drug shortages in England are now at such critical levels that patients are at risk of immediate harm and even death, pharmacists have warned.
The situation is so serious that pharmacists increasingly have to issue “owings” to patients – telling someone that only part of their prescription can be dispensed and asking them to come back for the rest of it later, once the pharmacist has sourced the remainder.
The above makes no mention of Scotland. Searching for reports of shortages in Scotland gets the same story of shortages in England, in the Herald and the National plus, this intriguing suggestion:
One potential solution lies in affording community pharmacy greater latitude in altering prescriptions – a practice that could save immense amounts of NHS funds and ease the mounting pressure on pharmacy resources.
A change to medicines legislation is needed to enable pharmacists to speed up access to medicines. This would allow pharmacists to make minor adjustments to prescriptions to help alleviate some of the issues for patients and reduce burdens on primary care – with the added benefit of reducing the workload of GPs.
Pharmacists in hospital, and in community pharmacies in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients.
Also, in the same journal in August 2023:
Scotland’s model for pharmacy offers lessons for England’s future
As pharmacies in Scotland receive renewed government backing, Steve Anderson takes a look at the future of English pharmacy against the backdrop of a damning new report.
I must commend Scotland’s Pharmacy First model, which has set the standard for the delivery of patient services through pharmacies. With PHOENIX’s presence in 29 European countries, I can see that Scotland’s approach stands out for its reach and ambition. The key, however, to its success has been borne out of years of government investment and commitment to maintain a financially viable network based upon sustainable long-term funding.
Unlike in England, where community pharmacies have faced cumulative funding cuts of more than £750 million per year, Scotland’s investment has allowed pharmacies to focus on patient care without the constant financial pressures. Community pharmacies should not be viewed as disposable figures on a spreadsheet. Our pharmacy teams provide vital care in our communities, improving healthcare outcomes and helping to manage long-term conditions.
If England wishes to develop its own Pharmacy First approach, that is a key lesson it must learn. If Scotland had failed to offer a fair funding commitment to pharmacy, politicians in England would have been forgiven for thinking they could get away with a cut-price Pharmacy First model from a steadily shrinking number of pharmacies.
In Scotland, the outlook on community pharmacy is that it plays a crucial role in enhancing healthcare outcomes and increasing patient access to essential care. Community pharmacies are an important part of the overall system, but one that clearly differs from that of a GP or hospital.
Community pharmacies do have the potential to reduce pressures on the NHS, particularly as healthcare demands increase, but further action is essential to enable community pharmacy to play an enhanced role delivering more patient care services. While funding is vital, the issue is not exclusively based on money.
The lesson from Scotland could not be clearer: invest in a robust and sustainable pharmacy network that increases patient access to essential NHS care. This in turn will reduce cost and demand pressures on other parts of the NHS, improving patient satisfaction and health outcomes.
Imagine Reporting Scotland wondering what they can make of the above?
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
O/T. Four reactors at the EDF French nuke plant at Gravelines have been forced to close down on Sunday and Monday because of a swarm of jelly fish getting into the cooling system. If it had been Hinckley Point, what would be the back up, as we scots are frequently asked about wind.
And jelly fish? There are millions around the UK–check out Ayr beach. Fish used to keep them in check by eating them when young, but there aint so many fish these days.
gavinochiltree
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