More children and young people in England should have the MMR vaccine to help prevent a potentially devastating measles outbreak, warn experts today.
Writing in The BMJ today, Professor Helen Bedford at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Helen Donovan at the Royal College of Nursing, warn a reduction in the uptake of two MMR doses could cause more children to be affected.
Their opinion piece says while 95% vaccine coverage is required to prevent outbreak, the latest data for July to September 2021 reported 88.6% uptake of the first dose of MMR at 24 months, with 85.5% uptake of two doses at five years. This is a reduction on previous quarters.
“Even a small decline in MMR vaccine uptake can herald disease outbreaks,” they warn, adding that all parents should be made aware of its importance.
And because there is no upper age limit for MMR vaccine, this message extends to unvaccinated young people and young adults, they say.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has launched a campaign to increase uptake of MMR vaccine in England, in response to the decline in uptake.
Prof Bedford and Ms Donovan say despite a lack of evidence, the decline in uptake has been blamed on Covid ‘vaccine fatigue’.
However, they say parents’ perceptions about the effectiveness of the MMR could have been affected by the Covid-19 vaccines, which are highly effective in protecting against severe disease, but less effective at preventing transmission.
They also write that successful vaccine programmes can be a victim of their own success. In the absence of disease, their seriousness can be forgotten with vaccination seeming unnecessary.
The authors also highlight a recent survey in which almost half the 2000 parents of young children said they were unaware measles could lead to serious complications.
They add that the fall and subsequent return of vaccine confidence following the 1998 MMR vaccine safety issues showed that it is possible to recover from low take up.
In an August 2021 survey of 600 parents of young children 21, more than 95% agreed that vaccines were important for their child’s health.
“We must build on this confidence to prevent the re-emergence of these potentially devastating infections,” they conclude.
Bedford H, Donovan H. We need to increase MMR uptake urgently. BMJ 31 March 2022
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