Kentish Express Ashford & District
Social media ‘fake news’ hits take-up rates of MMR jab
Concerns over parents being misinformed
Fake news about vaccinations being spread on social media is putting more than 1,300 in the county at risk of serious illness, health experts have warned.
More than 1,000 children in Kent are not fully vaccinated against MMR, as the NHS warned vaccine deniers are gaining traction online.
Across England, take-up of the vaccine has fallen, with NHS chief executive Simon Stevens blaming anti-vaxxers increasing prominence as “part of the fake news movement”.
The latest figures show that in Kent, between April and September 2018, 88.2% of children turning five had received the recommended two measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jabs.
This means around 1,103 children in the area are not fully vaccinated.
In Medway, 86% had the MMR jab - leaving 271 not fully vaccinated.
This is below the target, set by the World Health Organisation, for 95% coverage.
However, MMR take-up in Kent has increased since 2017, when 85.1% of five year olds had the full course of vaccinations, according to Public Health England.
Across England, the proportion of five-year-olds fully immunised against MMR has dropped from 87.5% in 2017 to 86.3% last year.
There were more than three times as many measles cases in 2018, as in the previous year.
Speaking at a Nuffield Trust health summit, Mr Stevens said: “Across the world, two to three million lives are saved each year by vaccination.
“But as part of the fake news movement, actually the vacci- nation deniers are getting some traction.
“We have seen a five-year steady decline in the vaccination uptake.”
Mr Stevens explained a parent at his own daughter’s primary school had used WhatsApp to express concern about children’s immune systems being “loaded up” with vaccines.
“We are not being helped on this front by the fact that although nine in 10 parents support vaccination, half of them say they have seen fake messages about vaccination on social media,” he said.
“Frankly it’s as irresponsible to tell parents that their children shouldn’t be vaccinated as it is to say don’t bother to look both ways when they cross the road.”
The Royal College of Nursing’s Helen Donovan said: “Challenging misinformation is vital to reverse the decline in vaccination uptake and ensure people recognise the protection it offers.”