NHS BOSS SLAMS JAB MYTHS AT SCHOOL GATE
How well-meaning parents are being deceived about bogus dangers of life-saving vaccines
THE school gates are a ‘ breeding ground’ for toxic myths about lifesaving jabs, the head of the NHS warns today. Simon Stevens says that wellmeaning mothers and fathers are victims of ‘fake news’ and are in turn spreading ‘harmful rumours’ about jabs – particularly MMR.
Writing in today’s Daily Mail, Mr Stevens argues that shunning the jabs is like telling children not ‘to look left and right before crossing the street’.
His powerful intervention comes after the Mail launched a campaign to improve the uptake of MMR and other childhood jabs amid an ‘antivaxx’ movement. A recent Government report found MMR jab levels are at their lowest in seven years.
MIDDLE-CLASS parents who want the best for their children are being deceived by ‘fake news’ about the supposed dangers of vaccines, the head of the NHS warns today.
Simon Stevens says school gates have become ‘breeding grounds’ for toxic myths about childhood jabs.
He says well- meaning parents are spreading ‘harmful rumours’ about jabs – particularly MMR – and affecting others’ judgment.
In a stark intervention, he claims shunning the lifesaving immunisations is like not telling children ‘to look left and right before crossing the street’.
Writing for today’s Daily Mail, Mr Stevens warns that some devoted parents may be unintentionally causing harm to their sons and daughters.
‘Vaccine-hesitant parents are not just those who are unaware of immunisation but actually those who have sought out, often online, some additional information – and no doubt reassurance – about vaccinations,’ he says.
The Mail launched a major campaign this week to improve the uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab and other childhood jabs.
It comes after a recent Government report showed vaccination rates had fallen across the board, including for measles, polio, meningitis and whooping cough.
Health officials are particularly concerned about the uptake of the MMR, which is at its lowest level in seven years for the full two doses just as measles is on the rise.
The Mail is urging the Government to launch a mass publicity drive to reassure the public these vaccines are safe and crucially, lifesaving.
Yesterday we exposed how some of the wealthiest areas in the country have surprisingly low uptakes, including Kensington and Chelsea in west London and parts of Surrey.
Mr Stevens, who has been chief executive of NHS England since 2014, explains: ‘Cruelly, it can be parents who go the extra mile to try to do the right thing and make an informed decision who are liable to stumble on and be deceived by fake news. In this way the school gates themselves can be a breeding ground for harmful myths to catch on, spread and ultimately infect parents’ judgment.’
Experts believe many parents are being put off the childhood immunisations by a growing presence of the ‘anti-vaxx’ lobby on social media.
Some of these activists refer to a 1998 study by disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield, which linked the MMR jab to autism. Wakefield’s findings were later ruled to be ‘utterly false’ and he was struck off the medical register in 2010.
But Mr Stevens warns that Wakefield’s ‘toxic legacy’ still lingers 20 years on.
In August, the World Health Organisation declared the UK was no longer measles-free following a sudden surge in rates.
A total of 991 cases were confirmed in 2018, more than three times the number in 2017.
Measles is highly infectious and, while it usually clears up after ten days, it can sometime lead to deafness or death.
The Mail is urging the NHS to roll out an alert system with text messages or letters reminding parents of appointments.
We urgently want to see the fall in uptake reversed, to such an extent that we hit a 95 per cent coverage across all ten childhood jabs.
This crucial figure is the World Health Organisation’s target as it ensures ‘herd immunity’ from a virus – where so few people have it that it cannot spread any further.