HPV Vaccination

Summary

A request for information regarding HPV vaccination safety, adverse reactions, and cervical cancer statistics on the Isle of Man was partially fulfilled, with the Department of Health and Social Care confirming no compensation funds or legal awards exist while citing data limitations for other queries.

Key Facts

• No funding has been ringfenced to compensate for HPV vaccine harms.
• No financial awards have been made for HPV vaccine harms.
• There is no testing regime to identify vulnerable recipients prior to vaccination.
• Aggregate data on Gillick Competence exemptions is not available as it is only recorded in individual case notes.
• The Department does not record parental occupations, preventing comparison of vaccination rates between GP/Pharmacist daughters and the general population.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-02-06
• 2018-03-26
• 356121
• 2008
• 11th October 2011
• IM117-230i

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (information already reasonably accessible)
• Section 11(3)a of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (practical refusal: information not held or cannot be found)

Original Request

Regarding HPV vaccination of young girls on Island: 1) Has anaphylaxis occurred after HPV vaccination, if so, on how many occasions? 2) For how long are HPV vaccine recipients monitored for immune system failure / disregulation? 3) Has the Department of Health and Social Care been notified of any legal actions pursuing claims following adverse reactions to HPV vaccination? 4) Are HPV vaccines regularly tested by an independently certified laboratory to identify any aluminium content? 5) How many cases of cervical cancer have been notified to DHSC for each year, on Island, since 2008? What has been the ages of those newly diagnosed with cervical cancer?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Chief Executive: Malcolm Couch Freedom of Information Team DHSC Digital Cronk Coar Strang IM4 4RJ

(01624) 642621 dhsc@foi.gov.im Website: www.gov.im/dhsc

Your ref: ### Our ref: 356121 26 March 2018

Dear ###

This request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

We write further to your request which was received on 6 February 2018 and which states:

"Regarding HPV vaccination of young girls on Island: 1) Has anaphylaxis occurred after HPV vaccination, if so, on how many occasions? 2) For how long are HPV vaccine recipients monitored for immune system failure / disregulation? 3) Has the Department of Health and Social Care been notified of any legal actions pursuing claims following adverse reactions to HPV vaccination? 4) Are HPV vaccines regularly tested by an independently certified laboratory to identify any aluminium content? 5) How many cases of cervical cancer have been notified to DHSC for each year, on Island, since 2008? What has been the ages of those newly diagnosed with cervical cancer?"

Please note that under section 4(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 the requirement to disclose information only applies in relation to information created on or after 11th October 2011. Requests for information that predate this period can be made through Government’s Code of Practice on Access to Government information. Details on this Code of Practice can be found as follows: https://www.gov.im/categories/home-and-neighbourhood/code-of-practice-on- access-to-government-information-access-code/

Response to your request Question 01: Has any funding been ringfenced to compensate for HPV vaccine harms? Please find the Department’s response to Question 01: No, no money has been ringfenced to compensate for HPV vaccine harms. Question 02: Have any financial awards been made for any HPV vaccine harms? If payments have been made, were the recipients or the parent / guardian the subject of a non disclosure ‘gagging’ order? Please find the Department’s response to Question 02: No financial awards have been made for any HPV vaccine harms. Question 03: Has the Island a testing regime to identify ‘vulnerable’ recipients, prior to HPV vaccination?
Please find the Department’s response to Question 03: No. Question 04: By percentage of those ‘eligible’ how many girls have declined to be HPV vaccinated, by year, since 2008. Please find the Department’s response to Question 04: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonable accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. All of the information that you have requested is available from IoM Government Freedom of Information Disclosure Log [FoI request no: IM117-230i]: https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/freedom-of- information-responses/ Question 05: Have any girls used the ‘Gillick Competence’ exemption to overrule their parents refusal for vaccination by year, since 2008. Please find the Department’s response to Question 05: Yes. This information is recorded in individual case notes but is not collated on a database and therefore aggregate data by year is not available.

Question 06: By percentages, by year since 2008, how do vaccination rates of the daughters of GP’s / Pharmacists compare with the population at large? Please find the Department’s response to Question 06: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Department of Health and Social Care (“the Department”) is unable to provide the information you have requested in Question 06. This is in line with section 11(3)a of the Act, as a practical refusal reason applies; namely we do not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested. This is on the grounds that parental occupations are not recorded.

Question 07: Since 2008, have new cases of: a) Guillain Barre syndrome, b) CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, c) POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), d) teenage menopause / ovarian failure, or e) severe mood reduction been investigated for occurrence, as being caused by HPV vaccination? Please find the Department’s response to Question 07: No.

Please quote the reference number 356121 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to us at:

Chief Executive: Malcolm Couch Freedom of Information Team DHSC Digital Cronk Coar Strang IM4 4RJ

(01624) 642621 dhsc@foi.gov.im Website: www.gov.im/dhsc

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely