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| Vax group head quits after restructure |
9-Jun-2005 |
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by Bianca Nogrady
UNCERTAINTY surrounding the future direction of the Federal Government’s immunisation advisory body has increased with the surprise resignation of its founding chairman, Professor George Rubin.
Professor Rubin quit his post as chairman of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) after seven years, citing recent changes to the group’s function, as well as a lack of consultation about those changes, as influencing his decision.
Significant changes to ATAGI’s function — including removal of its funding advisory role to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee — were announced in the 2005/06 federal budget, but Professor Rubin was only informed of the changes after the decision was made.
A spokeswoman for Federal Health Minister Mr Tony Abbott defended the lack of consultation about the changes, saying “budget decisions are confidential”.
The change could signal a return to the single immunisation schedule, instead of the two-tier immunisation system of funded and recommended vaccines, which ATAGI adopted two years ago.
Professor Rubin told Australian Doctor that ATAGI had taken the two-tier approach because the group felt it was the only way it could constructively do its work, “but it did create political problems for the government”.
While he had already considered stepping down after seven years in the job, he said the restructuring was a catalyst for his decision.
“The proposed changes just offer a good time for a new chairman to come in and wrestle with the difficulties of implementing a single schedule in an increasingly complex environment,” he said.
In the three weeks since the budget there has been little information about the new structure and how ATAGI and the PBAC will work together to set Australia’s immunisation agenda.
The health minister’s office said new terms of reference for ATAGI were being developed, and a replacement for Professor Rubin would be appointed, but no further details were available.
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