With one in ten children in England not up to date with their vaccinations and at risk of becoming seriously unwell, this World Immunisation Week (24-30th April) NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board is encouraging people to make sure they are up to date with their routine vaccinations at all life stages.
In particular, they are asking all parents to check if their children are up to date with their MMR vaccines to protect them against measles, mumps and rubella. To become fully protected children need two doses, the first at age one year and the second at 3 years 4 months.
In Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, our MMR uptake remains above the national average, however, there has been a reduction in first doses over last few years from 95% in 2014/15 to 93%.
Second doses have fallen further behind and uptake now stands at 89% – down from 92% in 2016/17.
The World Health Organisation have predicted a rise in measles cases across Europe in 2023, making it is more important than ever to make sure that your child is fully protected. Measles can make a child seriously unwell and can lead to pneumonia with rare long-lasting conditions such as blindness and brain damage.
To make sure your children are up to date check your child’s red book or GP records and make an appointment to catch up any missed doses.
