UK's top GP warns parents to get children jabbed amid 'dangerous' measles spike
'We need to restore momentum to the MMR programme and fight against vaccine complacency and hesitancy,' Professor Kamila Hawthorne told i
Professor Kamila Hawthorne (R), Chair of the Royal College of GPs, called for restoring momentum to the MMR childhood vaccination programme (Photo: Getty Imanges/Justin Grainge/Royal College of General Practitioners)
Children’s lives are being put in danger from a post-Covid drop in measles vaccination rates, Britain’s top GP has warned.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, called for restoring momentum to the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) childhood vaccination programme “and fight against vaccine complacency and hesitancy”.
Writing for i, below, Professor Hawthorne said although the UK achieved measles elimination status in 2017, the situation has now reversed, pointing to data from the College’s Research and Surveillance Centre confirming spikes in parts of the UK.
She said: “There may be many reasons why uptake is falling. After the experience of living through a global health emergency, one might be that some people have grown complacent about a disease, that may be seen as something fairly mild and that used to be quite common before the vaccine was available.
“But it isn’t mild, it is highly infectious, and there is a high rate of complications.”
Professor Dame Jenny Harries said that “concerted action” is needed to tackle the virus – which is more contagious than Covid-19 – as she visited a measles blackspot in the West Midlands on Friday.
Professor Hawthorne’s warning comes after the head of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that the UK is on a “trajectory for everything getting much worse” when it comes to measles spreading (Photo: Getty Images)
She said: “We need to build up vaccination coverage so each new age group coming through systematically attains that 95 per cent coverage and that will protect all of us, both those who have had the vaccine and the very few who are perhaps immunocompromised for whatever reason, or perhaps very small children under six months who cannot have the vaccine.”
She said the majority of people are not against their child receiving the MMR jab, but that they need more information to feel confident about their decision.
“We have learned a lot from Covid in that we need to make vaccines accessible to people but accessibility means different things, firstly making sure that they are physically available, but we also need to make sure people feel confident and have enough information to make a decision to step forward and have that vaccine,” Dame Jenny said.
“What we are seeing at the moment with measles is that people have forgotten what a serious illness it is, our vaccine programmes have been very successful and our coverage rates have dropped now, so we probably need to provide more information.
“We have had very high vaccination rates, especially for young families, but they are low at the moment.”
Vaccination rates across the country have been dropping, but there are particular concerns about some regions, including parts of London and the West Midlands.
Figures released by the UKHSA show there have been 216 confirmed measles cases and 103 probable cases in the West Midlands since 1 October last year.
The UKHSA has declared a national incident, which it said is an internal mechanism signalling the growing public health risk and enabling it to focus work in specific areas. Birmingham MP Jess Phillips has said a TikTok campaign is needed to promote the uptake of the MMR vaccine.
Latest NHS England data shows that MMR1 (first dose) coverage at five years decreased to 92.5 per cent last year, while MMR2 (second dose) coverage at 5 years decreased to 84.5 per cent – both figures are the lowest level since 2010-11.
Vaccination coverage for children under the age of five is now the lowest it has ever been in the past 10 years and outbreaks for diseases like measles are now “more likely than ever”, scientists have warned.
In Scotland, almost 1 in every 10 children aged 4 to 11 are missing one or both doses of MMR vaccine.
Public Health Scotland recent analyses suggest more than 60,000 children of school age in Scotland are susceptible to measles: 8.0 per cent of primary school and 8.7 per cent of secondary school aged children.
This is higher than the current 5 per cent World Health Organisation target critical for achieving elimination.
“Many children are at risk because vaccination rates have fallen in London and in pockets across the country. The mortality rate is from 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 5,000 in high income countries but much higher in low income countries.
“The clock is ticking to get children who have missed doses vaccinated before this virus kills.”
Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said only a “sustained uptake” of 95 per cent of two doses of MMR vaccine would keep measles at bay.
“Even a small decline in uptake increases the risk of having outbreaks,” she said.
Professor Bedford said the fall in uptake was exacerbated during the pandemic for a variety of reasons with some parents afraid to attend clinics for fear of catching Covid or because they were not clear that routine vaccination services were continuing.
However, she said it is “too easy” to blame anti-vaccine sentiment for the measles outbreaks.
“Although some mistrust of vaccines may play a small part, research shows that parental vaccine confidence remains high. While we need to be aware of anti-vaccine sentiment, it is not by any means the whole story,” Professor Bedford said.
“However, the pandemic, with new vaccines introduced and vaccination constantly discussed, may have resulted in the public having more questions about vaccination: its safety, effectiveness and, for a disease like measles which had become rare in the UK, its necessity.”
‘We need to restore momentum to the MMR programme’
The Childhood Vaccination Programme is one of the great successes of the NHS, but the MMR vaccine can only work to reduce transmission of these viruses in communities, if enough people have it.
Maintaining high vaccination rates is a top priority for GPs and our teams, and as a society, we mustn’t become complacent.
In 2017, the UK achieved measles elimination status, but unfortunately this has been reversed, and now data from the RCGP’s Research and Surveillance Centre and UKHSA has confirmed spikes in parts of the UK.
We cannot stress enough how dangerous measles can be. Although it’s rare, the disease can be life-threatening and can result in life-changing health complications, particularly for children, pregnant women, the elderly and those who are chronically ill.
Professor Kamilla Hawthorne said measles can be life-threatening and can result in life-changing health complications, particularly for children and pregnant women (Photo: Justin Grainge/Royal College of General Practitioners)
The MMR vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective at giving people lifelong protection from the disease – and if parents have any reservations about its safety, they can ask their GP, or any member of their clinical practice team.
We need to restore momentum to the MMR programme and fight against vaccine complacency and hesitancy. There may be many reasons why uptake is falling.
After the experience of living through a global health emergency, one might be that some people have grown complacent about a disease, that may be seen as something fairly mild and that used to be quite common before the vaccine was available.
But it isn’t mild, it is highly infectious, and there is a high rate of complications.
If you notice symptoms of measles – such as cold and flu symptoms combined with a temperature and a rash that starts behind the ears and spreads to the face and the rest of the body – either in yourself or your children, it’s important to seek medical advice.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne is Chair of the Royal College of GPs
Maurice Saatchi: I used to adore capitalism – then I had lunch with Margaret Thatcher