❓ A parliamentary question addresses the continued use of thimerosal in vaccines for children under five in Western Australia, focusing on reasons for its persistence, affected vaccines, awareness among medical professionals, and vaccination rates among both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, with a timeline for complete phase-out.
AnsweredQoN 1Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is thimerosol/thiomersal still used in any vaccines in Western Australia for children under five years old?
(2) If yes to (1), -
(a) why has thimerosol/thiomersal not yet been entirely phased out;
(b) in which vaccines is it currently contained;
(c) how is it ensured that doctors and nurses know if they are using a vaccine that contains thimerosol/thiomersal;
(d) approximately how many Western Australian children per year are vaccinated with vaccines that contain thimerosal/thiomersal;
(e) of the number referred to in (d), approximately how many are Aboriginal children; and
(f) when will the phase out of thimerosol/thiomersal from vaccines in Western Australia be complete?
(2) If yes to (1), -
(a) why has thimerosol/thiomersal not yet been entirely phased out;
(b) in which vaccines is it currently contained;
(c) how is it ensured that doctors and nurses know if they are using a vaccine that contains thimerosol/thiomersal;
(d) approximately how many Western Australian children per year are vaccinated with vaccines that contain thimerosal/thiomersal;
(e) of the number referred to in (d), approximately how many are Aboriginal children; and
(f) when will the phase out of thimerosol/thiomersal from vaccines in Western Australia be complete?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
9 March 2009
Responded by
Minister for Transport representing the Minister for Health
Response time
118 days
(1) Yes.
(2) (a) Thimerosal is used in vaccines to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination of the vaccine in several products. While manufacturers have agreed to find alternative methods to producing vaccines, largely to address parental concerns, a growing body of scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that receipt of thimerosal in vaccines causes negative health outcomes. The most recent major study on the subject published in the New England Journal of Medicine, September 2007, concluded that the "study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of seven to 10 years".
(b) A trace amount (<2ug/ml) of thimerosal is present in the hepatitis B paediatric vaccine given at birth, which has been approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Certain brands of influenza vaccine also contain thimerosal. However, the recent paediatric influenza campaign in Western Australia used two vaccine formulations which do not contain thimerosal (Fluarix and Vaxigrip).
(c) The Department of Health's Communicable Disease Control Directorate provides information about vaccines to doctors and nurses in WA. In addition, all nurses engaged in providing immunisation services are required to undertake a training course in immunisation to enable them to gain certification in this specialised field. On successful completion of the course they are given a Certificate of Competence to administer the National Immunisation Program Schedule. Information on vaccine components is also available in the "The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 9
th
Edition", in hard copy and on-line.
(d) There are approximately 30,000 children in the birth cohort in Western Australia and in the past year approximately 94 per cent of non-Indigenous and 91 per cent of Indigenous children received the hepatitis B vaccine.
(e) It is estimated that 2 per cent of the birth cohort are Indigenous. Therefore it is estimated that approximately 546 Indigenous children receive the hepatitis B vaccination each year.
(f) As of 2000, thimerosal was removed from almost all vaccines used in the National Immunisation Program Schedule for children 0-5 years of age. The use of thimerosal in the hepatitis B vaccine will be phased out in the near future, but an exact date is not yet available.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(2) (a) Thimerosal is used in vaccines to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination of the vaccine in several products. While manufacturers have agreed to find alternative methods to producing vaccines, largely to address parental concerns, a growing body of scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that receipt of thimerosal in vaccines causes negative health outcomes. The most recent major study on the subject published in the New England Journal of Medicine, September 2007, concluded that the "study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of seven to 10 years".
(b) A trace amount (<2ug/ml) of thimerosal is present in the hepatitis B paediatric vaccine given at birth, which has been approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Certain brands of influenza vaccine also contain thimerosal. However, the recent paediatric influenza campaign in Western Australia used two vaccine formulations which do not contain thimerosal (Fluarix and Vaxigrip).
(c) The Department of Health's Communicable Disease Control Directorate provides information about vaccines to doctors and nurses in WA. In addition, all nurses engaged in providing immunisation services are required to undertake a training course in immunisation to enable them to gain certification in this specialised field. On successful completion of the course they are given a Certificate of Competence to administer the National Immunisation Program Schedule. Information on vaccine components is also available in the "The Australian Immunisation Handbook, 9
th
Edition", in hard copy and on-line.
(d) There are approximately 30,000 children in the birth cohort in Western Australia and in the past year approximately 94 per cent of non-Indigenous and 91 per cent of Indigenous children received the hepatitis B vaccine.
(e) It is estimated that 2 per cent of the birth cohort are Indigenous. Therefore it is estimated that approximately 546 Indigenous children receive the hepatitis B vaccination each year.
(f) As of 2000, thimerosal was removed from almost all vaccines used in the National Immunisation Program Schedule for children 0-5 years of age. The use of thimerosal in the hepatitis B vaccine will be phased out in the near future, but an exact date is not yet available.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.