Campaign launched to drive up childhood vaccinations

A campaign has been launched this week to increase childhood vaccinations across the South West.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched a new multi-media marketing campaign across England to remind parents and carers of the risk of their children missing out on protection against serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country – with an urgent call to action to catch up on missed vaccinations.

The campaign comes as the latest weekly update today on measles cases in England shows there have been another 69 cases in the past week, bringing the total number of laboratory confirmed measles cases reported since 1 October 2023 to 650.

Uptake levels of childhood vaccines offered through the routine NHS vaccination programme in England have been falling over the past decade across all vaccines, including whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, meningitis and diphtheria - with England no longer having the levels of population immunity recommended by the World Health Organization that is needed to prevent outbreaks. Crucially, lower vaccine uptake within communities is directly linked to wider health inequalities.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said:

We need an urgent reversal of the decline in the uptake of childhood vaccinations to protect our communities. Through this campaign we are particularly appealing to parents to check their children’s vaccination status and book appointments if their children have missed any immunisations. The ongoing measles outbreak we are seeing is a reminder of the very present threat.

While the majority of the country is protected, there are still high numbers of children in some areas that continue to be unprotected from preventable diseases. It is not just their own health that can suffer, but other unvaccinated people around them such as school friends, family and those in their community could also experience serious infections.

Unless uptake improves we will start to see the diseases that these vaccines protect against re-emerging and causing more serious illness.

Health Minister Maria Caulfield said:

Parents want what is best for their children – and that includes the vital protection that vaccines provide from preventable diseases.

This campaign is an important step to engage local communities and highlight the importance of immunisation, as diseases like measles are not illnesses of the past. We want to make sure parents know how and where they can get essential jabs for their children as quickly as possible.

I want to encourage parents to get their children immunised, particularly if they are behind on their immunisation schedule. Please check your children’s vaccination record and book in an appointment to get the jabs they need.

To counter this decline, UKHSA is co-ordinating its national marketing campaign with an NHS operational MMR catch up campaign. Areas with low uptake will be a focus for support and parents of children aged from six to 11 years will be contacted directly and urged to make an appointment with their child’s GP practice for any missed MMR vaccines.

The World Health Organization recently repeated their warning on the growing measles threat due to sub-optimal vaccination rates well below the 95% target, highlighting that more than half the world faces high measles risk. This includes Europe, where it warns of the high probability of importation from areas experiencing high circulation and the fact that the seasonal peak of the virus could be seen in the coming months.