Alarm as child vaccination rates fall

Child vaccination rates fell for all procedures in the last year, according to alarming figures published yesterday.

The figures show that well-publicised outbreaks of measles and mumps failed to trigger improved uptake of vaccines in the year from 2018-19.

More than 5% of five-year-olds had not their first MMR vaccine, NHS Digital reported, while just 86.4% had received a second vaccine. The proportion of unvaccinated five-year-olds increased from 5.1% to 5.5%.

Fewer than 95% of two-year-olds received the DTaP/IPV/Hib vaccine, the first time targets were missed in a decade, according to the agency.

NHS Digital said vaccination rates fell for all routine childhood vaccinations with decreases ranging between 0.2 and 1 percentage points.

Senior doctors said the declines were "very concerning."

Professor Helen Bedford, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “It is very concerning to hear that the rates of uptake for routine vaccinations for children under-five have dropped for the fifth year in a row. Vaccinations are the most effective measure to protect children from serious infections and have a very good safety record."

Dr Peter English, public health committee chair of the British Medical Association, said: “There is a clear need to curb the damaging spread of false and misleading information on vaccinations by enforcing standards and placing legal obligations on social media corporations.

“More importantly still, the Government must implement an effective vaccination strategy that addresses the wide-ranging factors behind this decline and deliver adequate resources to ensure targeted, comprehensive vaccination programmes that reaches those most in need.”

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said "Even a small drop in the take-up of vaccinations is disheartening and very concerning. Our efforts to eradicate potentially serious – but entirely preventable diseases – had been going so well, but we are now seeing a rise in the numbers of cases of measles and mumps."