Cork Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune has called for extra resources for Cork’s TB services to get the immunisation programme back on track and remove the current backlog.

A two year waiting list in the Cork area for the BCG vaccine is totally unacceptable. The recent TB outbreak in a Cork primary school resulted in a very high incidence of TB among the school population, because most of these children had not received the BCG vaccine.

Any immunisation policy should be implemented uniformly across the State. Many children in Cork have no protection against TB because, unlike the rest of the country, babies born in Cork were not offered the BCG vaccination for over 30 years. It was only reintroduced in 2008 following TB outbreaks in two Cork crèches.

The publicity surrounding the recent outbreak has prompted many parents to seek the vaccine. However, they have to join a growing waiting list, and two years is a long time in any child’s life. There are at least 2,500 children waiting for the vaccine in Cork, a number which has increased in recent weeks.

Last Monday the long overdue HPV vaccine for cervical cancer was rolled out across Cork city and county. This essential vaccine is being administered in schools by medical staff already responsible for the BCG vaccine. This increased workload will put local staff in an impossible position. These figures don’t add up and children in Cork may be left exposed.

The HSE is trying to deal with the recent Cork outbreak in an emergency situation, but the large backlog in the immunisation programme must be addressed as a matter of urgency. If this requires the Department and the HSE to provide extra resources to remove the backlog and get the immunisation programme back on track, then this is what must be done.