Childhood immunisation rates in Rochdale borough continue to decrease

Parents and guardians are being warned of the serious health risks from children missing routine immunisations as new data shows vaccination coverage for young children fell last year for virtually all programmes.

Parents and guardians are being urged to ensure their children are up to date with all their routine childhood immunisations including polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations.

Vaccination rates have fallen over several years and additional disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, beginning in March 2020, is likely to have caused some of the decreases in vaccine coverage seen in 2020-21 and 2021-22 compared to earlier years.

The latest vaccination statistics from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS Digital for children up to 5 years of age in the UK (COVER programme) show coverage decreased for 13 out of the 14 routine vaccination programmes measured in 2021-22.

The World Health Organization recommends vaccination coverage levels of 95% for all childhood immunisation programmes to help prevent the spread of avoidable serious - and sometimes deadly - diseases such as measles and polio.

In the Rochdale borough, only 91.5% of children had completed their first dose of the MMR vaccine by the time they were 2 years old, whilst coverage for the second dose of MMR by age 5 years in 2021-22 was at 89.1%.

The data also shows that only 91.9% of children had their six-in-one vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b. All babies are eligible for this vaccination for free on the NHS at eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age. By five years old, 95.3% of children had been vaccinated.

Just 88.8% of one-year-olds had been vaccinated against rotavirus, whilst 91.9% of the same age group had received their meningitis B vaccine. Only 90.2% of two-year-olds had received their meningitis B booster.

Pneumococcal vaccination levels in one-year-olds were also lower than the WHO recommendation, with 93.9% vaccinated in 2021-22.

Since the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1968, it is estimated that 20 million measles cases and 4,500 deaths have been prevented in the UK.

Measles is highly contagious so even a small decline in MMR uptake can lead to a rise in cases. Since international travel has resumed closer to pre-pandemic levels, it is more likely that measles will be brought in from countries that have higher levels of the disease and cause outbreaks.

Measles can lead to complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain which require hospitalisation and on rare occasions can lead to long-term disability or death.

The NHS is running an MMR catch-up campaign so some parents may be contacted directly.

Dr Merav Kliner, deputy director at UKHSA North West, said: “Measles is highly contagious and can be dangerous, and it is extremely worrying that we are seeing levels of uptake of the MMR vaccine falling among young children.

“I would urge parents to check that all children are up to date with their vaccines, and if not to get them booked in as soon as possible to make sure they have maximum protection against what can be terrible diseases. Childhood vaccines also boost population immunity levels, helping prevent outbreaks, so by taking up all vaccinations for our children, we play our part in keeping these diseases confined to the past.”

Tricia Spedding, head of public health at NHS England North West, said: “It’s important parents make sure their children are protected against measles, mumps and rubella with the first and second dose. It can easily spread between unvaccinated children and potentially be very serious for them.

“The MMR vaccine is safe and effective for your child, and will protect them, their friends and the wider community from these unpleasant but preventable diseases. If your child hasn’t been vaccinated yet, or is not up to date with their vaccinations, please contact your GP to book an appointment as soon as possible.”

Anyone who is unsure if their child is up to date with all their routine vaccinations should check their child’s Red Book (personal child health record) in the first instance. If you are still not sure, or if you need to bring your child up to date with their vaccines, contact your GP practice to check and book an appointment.

To find out more about childhood vaccinations, please visit the NHS website: www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/