MEASLES CAN BE FATAL. TRUST THE SCIENCE AND GET YOUR CHILD JABBED

WE ALL witnessed the amazing results that vaccines achieved during Covid. The mass roll-out of jabs weakened a highmortality infection here and around the world.

So it’s deeply worrying that the rate of uptake for all routine childhood vaccinations is falling – meaning that measles, which can be a serious disease, is on the rise.

That’s why I’m urging parents, carers and guardians to get their children fully vaccinated, which they can do at their GPs. Young adults, who also missed the MMR vaccine should get jabbed too. After living through a global pandemic, perhaps people have grown complacent about measles, seeing it as something mild and treatable.

The truth is it’s a highly infectious disease that can be fatal, with significant numbers of people needing hospitalisation if they suffer a lung or brain complication due to the infection. Even having uncomplicated measles can be unpleasant, with high temperatures, a cough and a rash.

Children, pregnant women, those with weakened immune systems and the elderly are particularly vulnerable.

Some readers will remember the outbreaks of polio in the 1950s and 1960s, perhaps they even had the disease.

But the vaccination programme against polio saved millions of children from a deadly disease and the disability it can cause. We are lucky that it was officially eradicated in Europe in 2003.

Vaccinations are our ammunition against preventable diseases – but they need to be widely used if they’re to be effective.

I urge parents to trust the science. Have faith in your family doctors.

The MMR vaccinations are safe, effective – and essential to safeguard the health of our children and the wider population.