British doctors are set to administer more than 200,000 extra doses of the MMR vaccine as they battle to halt the spreading measles outbreak, it was revealed today.
The disease, which caused a major outbreak in South Wales, is still spreading in England, Public Health England said.
The catch-up programme aims to ensure that 300,000 children over the age of ten are vaccinated for the first time. It is also seeking out hundreds of thousands of children who have not had booster doses.
Some 288 cases of measles were reported in England in April – 113 more than a year earlier – bring the total in the first four months of the year close to 1,000.
Public Health England said vaccination rates among five year olds were now at the highest ever recorded levels following the outbreak. 94% have received at least one doses.
Dr Mary Ramsay, of the agency, said the number of doses ordered by GPs was "very encouraging."
She said: “We are getting regular feedback from the local NHS teams about what is happening on the ground and are encouraged by the very high levels of involvement by GP practices across England.
"We will shortly be getting results from a new monitoring system that will tell us the number of vaccines received by children.
“Our ambition is to vaccinate 95 per cent of 10-16 year olds at risk in time for the next school year."
Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the British Department of Health, said: "It’s encouraging that GPs have taken up the challenge wholeheartedly and ordered almost a quarter of a million extra doses of MMR, so we know they are ready to vaccinate people.
"The best thing that parents can do, if their children have not had two doses of MMR, is to make an appointment with the GP now.”
Leave a Reply