PHARMACISTS HAVE SAID they are “primed, resourced and ready” to contribute to the government’s newly announced MMR Catch-up Vaccination Programme in order to stave off an outbreak of measles in Ireland.

Cases of measles are on the rise across Europe and have shown up in Ireland over recent weeks, with the HSE issuing an urgent alert last week to passengers who travelled on a flight from Abu Dhabi to Dublin, which was carrying at least one infected person.

With more people bound to travel abroad this spring and summer, one pharmacist told The Journal she fears that many will bring the highly infectious – and dangerous – disease back with them.  

There have been five confirmed cases of measles in Ireland so far this year, with one resulting in the death of an adult. 

On 5 March, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced his department had government approval of the MMR catch-up programme. A similar catch-up scheme was introduced for young children last year. 

The details of the new programme are yet to be published but the Department of Health has said it will prioritise vaccinating children and young adults, healthcare workers and underserved groups such as refugees, asylum seekers and homeless people. 

Last year, Ireland’s uptake of the MMR vaccine was below 90%, which falls short of the WHO-recommended 95%. 

‘Let us help’ 

Almost a month ago, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) said that MMR vaccines should be available in pharmacies, as the ease of accessibility would increase uptake among the public.

So far the Department of Health has not opted to bring pharmacists into the programme despite the appearance of measles cases in Ireland in recent weeks.  

The IPU said there was “a worrying trend” emerging across Europe and now in Ireland “where declining vaccination rates are corresponding with increased infection”.

A spokesperson for the IPU told The Journal it has been in “close contact” with officials in the HSE regarding the vaccine programme. However, the HSE still intends to run the rollout through GPs and its own immunisation teams, the IPU said.  

Pharmacist and healthcare podcaster Sheena Mitchell told The Journal that pharmacies have the capacity and experience to contribute to the vaccination programme, having played a similar role during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Letting pharmacists share the responsibility with GPs would reduce waiting times and relieve pressure on doctors, especially those in underserved rural areas, Mitchell said. 

“This is just a further burden on them, which I believe is a barrier to actually being proactive in terms of MMR vaccination,” she said, adding that later opening hours at pharmacies would also relieve some of the strain. 

‘We can see this one coming’ 

Mitchell, who owns Total Health pharmacy in Dublin and the Wondercare.ie health platform, described the government’s response as reactive.  

“I just do not feel that the current catch-up program is designed for prompt action and for the immediate attention of the approximately 300,000 people who need access to the MMR,” she said. 

“Every time a healthcare crisis comes up in Ireland, we have this kind of reactive response. We can see this one coming. To me it’s frustrating and worrying that we have not learned from the lessons of our past, to be proactive.” 

Proactive and preventative measures should be a priority, Mitchell said. 

“We’re just basically encouraging in another crisis and I feel that’s negligent because, unfortunately, the complications of measles are actually quite significant.”

It’s Mitchell’s opinion that the government should treat the measles situation as an emergency and implement a system modelled on the Covid vaccine rollout, or the existing flu jab programme. 

“We’re actually primed, resourced and ready to take this on as a matter of urgency. Like it shouldn’t be something that is difficult. It could be just modelled completely on the Covid vaccine program.” 

The IPU said something similar in its February statement. 

“Pharmacists are now experienced vaccinators and have been playing an important role in combating flu and Covid for many years,” said IPU chair Kathy Maher.

“It is time to add measles, through the MMR, to the list of vaccinations available in local pharmacies,” she said adding that legislation already exists to allow for this. 

Despite these calls from pharmacists, the government has not taken their advice on board to date and Sheena Mitchell says her emails and social media messages to various agencies, departments and the Health Minister have received no response a month later. 

“I just don’t understand why they refuse to listen to us,” she said with some exasperation, warning that the situation mirrors that of the Covid pandemic. 

“All of a sudden, once there’s pandemonium in the country and people are in hospital and you know, actually suffering the disease, then they’ll react and then they’ll ask us to row in. I think we should be mobilised immediately.”

The Department of Health did not respond to questions about engagement with pharmacists.