Government of Jersey

COVID Vaccination safety and cancer treatment spend (FOI)

Produced by the Freedom of Information office
Authored by Government of Jersey and published on 13 July 2023.
Prepared internally, no external costs.

Request

Please provide responses to the following nine questions all of which are in the public interest:

Professor Peter Bradley, the Director of Public Health within the Government of Jersey claimed that the COVID vaccines are safe in a recent article in the Jersey Evening Post (JEP). Please confirm on what basis Professor Peter Bradley was able to advise the public that the Covid vaccines are deemed safe?

Is the Government of Jersey currently, or planning to, investigate the 839 yellow card adverse events referenced in the JEP article, which have been lodged in connection to the COVID vaccines? If not, why not?

How is the Government of Jersey able to evidence the safety of these COVID vaccines and what is its definition of 'Safe' in the context of these vaccinations?

What is the Government of Jersey's definition of a vaccine?

What data is being analysed locally and by whom in relation to any adverse events or excess local deaths?

There are people waiting on information concerning the COVID vaccine compensation scheme in Jersey; who is responsible for this and why is such a fund not already available?

How is the Government of Jersey able to evidence that informed consent is given to any recipient of the COVID vaccines?

Does the Government of Jersey deem that we are still in a pandemic where emergency use of these COVID vaccines remains suitable? If not how are Jersey still able to administer these experimental vaccinations?

What amount of public funds have been spent on pharmaceutical cancer treatments during 2020 to 2022?

Response

The Government of Jersey continues to be guided by a wide range of international evidence and peer reviewed, systematic research, alongside the recommendations of local and international experts, to inform and deliver the Island’s vaccination programme.

All COVID vaccines used as part of the UK and Jersey vaccination programme are approved vaccines, used in accordance with guidance issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Medicines in Jersey, including the COVID Vaccines, are supplied from the UK and therefore regulated, deemed safe and effective for use in humans by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before use. The MHRA is the national government agency which continuously monitors the safety of medicines and vaccines through a variety of pharmacovigilance processes, including the Yellow Card scheme. All adverse reaction reports received by the Yellow Card scheme are individually assessed and cumulative information is reviewed at regular intervals.

The vaccines have undergone multiple stages of testing to ensure their safety, including clinical trials in tens of thousands of volunteers with differing ages and comorbidities. The following World Health Organisation (WHO) frequently asked questions webpage serves as a source of information regarding COVID vaccine safety:

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Vaccines and Vaccine Safety: (who.int)

This information is publicly available in response to a previous Freedom of Information request. Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. Please see the link below:

COVID-19 Yellow Card Reporting (FOI)

Please see the response to question 1.

The Government of Jersey does not have a separate definition of a vaccine; however, international definitions are applied by the UK before vaccines are procured by Jersey. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of a vaccine is ‘a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose’. Further information can be found on the CDC website and can be accessed via the following link:

Immunization Basics (cdc.gov)

Excess mortality from any cause is considered as part of regular public heath reporting on mortality. For reference, the public health intelligence publication schedule can be accessed via using the link below:

Public Health Intelligence publication release schedule (gov.je)

Any adverse reactions would be managed by healthcare professionals, like any other health need. In line with the other four nations of the UK, Jersey utilises the national Yellow Card system for suspected adverse drug events reporting and analysis as larger numbers enable more precise data.

As with all medicines, side effects can occur after receiving a vaccine. However, these are usually very minor and of short duration, such as a sore arm or a mild fever. More serious side effects are possible, though extremely rare.

The Government of Jersey has been in discussion with the UK Government on this matter over several months. At present, it appears that a route to enable Jersey residents to access the national Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme (VDPS) may be established before the end of this year. If so, this would allow those who received an MHRA approved vaccination against COVID-19 which was administered in Jersey as part of the Government of Jersey’s Vaccination Programme, which may have caused them illness or injury, to have those damages assessed under the VDPS.

COVID-19 Vaccination consent (FOI)

Jersey, along with the four nations of the UK, continues to offer COVID vaccinations in line with the advice and recommendations of the JCVI.

The Government of Jersey does not consider COVID vaccines to be experimental. All COVID vaccines used within the Jersey vaccination programme are approved use by the national medicines regulator, the MHRA.

Health and Community Services Response

Health and Community Services’ (HCS’) Oncology and Haematology records show the spend on locally provided pharmaceutical treatments for cancer in 2020 and 2021, which are detailed in Table 1 of the attached document.

Figures for 2022 are still to be analysed, but annual costs calculated for locally provided anti-cancer treatments through Oncology and Haematology Services are approximately £310,000 more per annum than figures for Systemic Anti-Cancer Treatment (SACT) held by Pharmacy. Comparative data is provided in Table 2 of the attached document.

Using this cost trend as a basis, Oncology / Haematology cost calculations would be approximately £5,880,000 for 2022.

Records are not available for the costs of chemotherapy alone, for patients receiving treatment for cancer through U.K. centres of care. HCS are charged for the episode of care, and whilst some high-level cost breakdowns are provided, these are not to the level of specificity required to isolate the charges relating to all anti-cancer drugs prescribed and delivered to each patient.

Establishing such costs would require interrogation of multiple datasets and individual records, data validation, and creation of new datasets. A Scheduled Public Authority is not required to create new datasets nor manipulate existing datasets in order to respond to Freedom of Information requests, and therefore, it is not possible to provide the U.K. costs for pharmaceutical cancer treatments at this time.

Customer and Local Services Response

The requested data is summarised in Table 3 of the attached document, with the caveat that the data as to why a medicine was prescribed and dispensed by GPs and Pharmacies is not held by the Government of Jersey, however the medicines summarised in the table are all licensed for the treatment of cancer.

Tables.pdf

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.