Parents of children starting school this September are reminded to make sure they are up to date with routine vaccinations to help protect them from serious childhood diseases.
More than one in ten five-year-olds in the North West are not up to date with their MMR vaccines – and in some parts of the region fewer than 80% of children start school without having full protection from measles, mumps and rubella.
This falls significantly below the 95% World Health Organisation (WHO) target needed to achieve and sustain measles elimination and stop the spread of the disease.
To become fully protected, children need two doses of MMR, the first at age one year and the second at 3 years 4 months.
Measles can make a child seriously unwell and can lead to pneumonia with rare long-lasting conditions such as blindness and brain damage.
If your child was due to have either of the two doses of MMR but has not yet received them, no matter what age they are, you should contact your GP practice to get them vaccinated as soon as possible. Parents can check if their child’s vaccines are up to date by looking at their personal health record (the red book) or asking their GP surgery and can make an appointment to catch up any missed doses.
The summer break provides a great opportunity to get up to date with your children’s vaccinations and make sure they are protected before heading back to school.
For more information about routine childhood vaccinations and what to have when, please visit NHS vaccinations and when to have them – NHS (www.nhs.uk).