LETTERS: There's more to fear from measles than from an injection

PERHAPS the most immoral aspect of last year's mass measles/ rubella vaccination programme was the fact that while the Government was well aware that cases of severe vaccine damage could result, it told the parents of nearly 7 million children that side-effects from the vaccination were uncommon, and made no attempt to accept responsibility for anything that might go wrong.

This was made worse by the fact that, according to the Government's own figures, only 10 per cent of the children were thought to have no immunity to measles but all were vaccinated to make sure this 10 per cent were covered.

In 1979 a Royal Commission recommended that the Government should be strictly liable for vaccine damage - not only because this was morally right when damage resulted from a scheme promoted by the Government but also because it would show that the Government had confidence in vaccination. Sadly, despite our long campaign to get the Government to compensate the injured, it has so far refused to do so.

Rosemary Fox

Association of Parents of Vaccine Damaged Children

Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire