MEASLES SHOULD BE ON YOUR MIND

Coronavirus is still a worry, but measles cases are also rising, so check your children’s jabs are up-to-date

While parents have been understandably worried about sending their children back to school amid a pandemic, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor Russell Viner, has said that measles is more of a risk to them than coronavirus. He went on to explain that children are always, to a certain degree, at risk, but parents need to do all they can to protect them.

“We don’t stop [children] from going to school or getting in cars. We make them wear seat belts, we tell them not to play in the road – and we vaccinate them,” he said. He also urged UK parents to ensure their children’s routine vaccines are up-todate, as many have missed MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) jabs because clinics have been closed and even once opened, parents have been too worried to take them there due to COVID-19.

To put the measles worry into context, in 2001 there were just 70 cases of measles in England and Wales – last year there were almost 1,000. Worldwide, more than 140,000 people died from measles in 2018.

It remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite the fact we have vaccines. It’s more than a nasty illness, like a cold or fever, it can lead to common complications like ear infections and diarrhoea, while severe complications include pneumonia and encephalitis or swelling of the brain, both of which can be deadly. Any worries about the safety of the MMR vaccine, which is given in two doses, have been proven unfounded, and there is no link to autism, so if you think your children have missed a jab, check. The first vaccination is given at one year, the second at three years and four months, but if your child has missed any, talk to your GP – they should be able to check whether you’re up-to-date.