McGrath clarifies his position: Vaccine denial puts lives at risk

WHEN junior education minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor challenged government pay policy, she showed that cabinet, just like any group, can hold different views.

That senior minister Paschal Donohoe quickly ruled out immediately reinstating teachers’ equal pay confirms that. Ms Mitchell O’Connor clarified her position in a harmless way, but her colleague clarified policy in an unambiguous way.

That kind of clarity is needed around the HPV vaccine — an issue that, unlike pay equality, can be a life-or-death decision. Yesterday, junior health minister Finian McGrath confirmed that he supports using the HPV vaccine in the battle against cervical cancer. The waters had been muddied, as Mr McGrath has raised concerns, while in opposition, but the statement by Minister for Health Simon Harris suggests that Mr McGrath has accepted that “such vaccines are a very important part of government health strategy”.

The persistent debate around vaccines, despite the strongest reassurances from health experts all round the world, is having a negative impact. The uptake of the HPV vaccine has fallen to an all-time low in Ireland, from 90% to 50% last year. Personal choice prevails, but so does personal responsibility. Rejecting the vaccine seems more like US President Donald Trump’s rejection of climate collapse than any rational response to a medical advance. Those who criticise the vaccine defy a well-settled medical policy and put lives at risk.