Gerard P. Craughwell demands HSE publish shingles vaccine data
Gerard P. Craughwell spoke in the Seanad calling for the HSE to publish its research that led to a decision not to fund the shingles vaccine and urged scrutiny of the cost-effectiveness analysis. He recounted his severe personal experience of shingles, flagged links between shingles and dementia risk, and asked the minister to review manufacturer and HSE evidence.
Personal experience with shingles
Craughwell described intense, prolonged pain from shingles that required hospital sedation, left him confined and fearful of recurrence, and covered half his torso. He warned of the condition following nerve lines and the risk to eyesight if it affects the face, and said he would avoid contact with his grandchildren if they had chickenpox until they were fully recovered.
Calls for HSE transparency and evidence
He asked the minister to press the HSE to publish the research and the rationale for deeming the vaccine not cost effective, and to make public the material used to reach that decision. Craughwell said ministers should not be asked to defend decisions made by the HSE and suggested reviewing statements from the vaccine manufacturer GSK alongside HSE analysis.
Cited international adoption and dementia findings
He noted countries that have adopted the vaccine include the UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, Australia and New Zealand. Craughwell referred to evidence mentioned in debate that shingles vaccination has been associated with up to a 20% reduction in the risk of Alzheimer's or dementia.
Concern for older and immune-compromised people
Craughwell stressed particular concern for people over 50 and those who are immune compromised, citing his own case in his 50s, his father's experience in his 60s, and people who remain immune compromised after cancer treatment. He linked the discussion to wider vaccine debates, including recent debate on an RSV vaccine for older adults.
Support for parliamentary scrutiny and recognition of colleagues
He praised Senator Conway for bringing the issue forward and thanked Senator Ahern for noting government support, saying there appeared to be unanimity in the chamber. Craughwell asked that, if the HSE research withstands scrutiny, alternative approaches be considered, but until then the evidence should be published for transparency.
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Good morning, it's Alaska here. Look, Minister, somehow or other we always seem to finish up together in this House when difficult questions come up and your follow-on, certainly in recent topics that I've had with you, is commendable. You do a good job and I'm really grateful to you for what you do do. Now, the weekend Pope John Paul died will never leave my mind and it wasn't that I had any great affinity to His Holiness. It was that I was, after a week's conference, I was down in Ross Lair, I was President of the Teachers' Union at the time, and I had had a pain in my back all week. On the night I arrived in Ross Lair, His Holiness was dying, and I was sitting in a chair in absolute agony. Nothing I could do would ease the pain. I spent the entire night awake, and the following morning I left Ross Lair at about 6.30, and by the time I got to St Cullum Kills Hospital in Loughlinstown, I was unable to be in any way cognisant of what was going on around me. I spent two days in Cullum Kills, under complete sedation. The level of pain I experienced, I have never experienced anything like it since or before. Half my torso, front to back, was covered in shingles. The pain was so excruciating. I moved into one bedroom in the house, and after three days in it, I thought I was going mad, and I finished up for six weeks lying on the floor of my sitting room, trying to find a position that would be comfortable, and nothing I could do would make it go away. But more importantly, even now, every now and then I get a twinge, and I think it's coming back. And I'll tell you, if it ever comes back, I don't know what I'll do. It is absolutely horrendous. Never known anything like it. But it's the danger it presents by following nerve lines. They told me at the time, if you got it in the face, it could actually cost you your sight. So it is a horrendous condition. And as some of my colleagues pointed out, there is a relationship between it and chickenpox. And I now have three beautiful granddaughters, and if I hear any of them have chickenpox, I ain't going anywhere near that place until they're well and truly clear of it. Senator Conway has done a lot of work on this, and his presentation here today was fantastic. And it is worth restating that the UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand have all adopted this. It is worth stating that there is some correlation between Alzheimer's and dementia and shingles. And that there has been up to a 20% reduction in risk of Alzheimer's or dementia as a result of vaccine from shingles. So a 20% reduction in dementia. I don't know, but when you get to the latter stage of life, where I am right now, the thoughts of dementia or Alzheimer's scares the living hell out of me. So it does. And if there was anything out there that would help to reduce that risk, then, dear God, please give it to me. Now, Minister, frequently you're put in the firing line over decisions made by the HSE. One of my asks today is that you get the HSE to publish their research on this. You get an explanation as to why it was deemed to be not cost effective. I don't know why we always finish up throwing ministers under the bus for decisions made by bureaucrats. And it wasn't a bureaucrat in the Department of Health. It was a HSE decision. Let them publish the information. We had this debate over the RSV vaccine as well, another vital vaccine for people in their late 60s, early 70s, with massive reductions in hospitalisation for people suffering from the respiratory diseases that come with the RSV. So from that point of view, I think it's something that we need to do. But for Senator Conway bringing this forward, I think it would have just gone under the door. Nobody would have taken much notice of it. And I congratulate my colleague, Senator Conway, for bringing this here and for the amount of work that he has done in it. I do believe, Minister, and I don't think it's fair to sort of blame the Department of Health or the Minister or indeed your own office, Minister. I don't think that that's on and I don't think that was ever intended by Senator Conway. And I congratulate Senator Ahern for pointing out the government are behind this. We seem to have unanimity in here now. Everybody seems to be on the same hymn sheet. So I think, Minister, I don't want to delay this any longer. Let's have a look and see what GSK are saying, the manufacturers of the vaccine. What are they saying? Let's see what the HSE are saying. Let's see the research that went into deciding whether this was a cost effective method or not. And if that research stands up, well, then maybe we have to look at another way around this problem. But I do believe that when they're going to make statements like it is not cost effective, they need to be able to back it up by publishing the research they have. It's not fair asking government ministers to come in here and defend something that they had no hand at or part in. I'm particularly concerned at those over 50. I was in my 50s when I got shingles. My father before me had shingles. He was in his 60s when he got shingles. So I'm particularly concerned for people in that age group. But I'm also concerned for those that are immune compromised. You'll know from a debate we had in here on my daughter's head and neck cancer, immune compromised. The number of people going around the place who formerly had breast cancer or prostate cancer or bowel cancer, all of these are immune compromised for the rest of their lives. So if we can do something to make their lives more certain, then we should do it. And I don't believe there'll be any need for votes or anything else on this. I think there is total support for it. So thank you for being here. And once again, I'm sorry you're the one that gets to carry the can. But thank you for your time. Go on, thank you. Thank you.
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