A WORD ON IMMUNISATIONS

Immunisation protects individuals and also society from potentially deadly diseases – but only if enough people are immunised to provide ‘herd immunity’. This means immunisation rates should be above 90% nationally.

A 1998 article in The Lancet medical journal by the now discredited (and struck-off) Andrew Wakefield led to unfounded anxiety about the safety of vaccines. MMR vaccination rates fell from about 91% in 1996/7 to 79.9% in 2003/4. GPS started seeing cases of measles and mumps regularly; and their complications, including meningitis and encephalitis. Once The Lancet retracted that first paper in 2010, vaccination rates rose to 92.7% in 2013/4. But they have dropped off to 90.3% in 2018/9.

The World Health Organization has warned that disruption to immunisation during a pandemic can mean a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases. GPS have continued to invite children for immunisations, but there has been significantly lower attendance at immunisation clinics since March.

Measles can damage a child’s immune system, making them more susceptible to other infections for up to three years; and that includes Covid-19. So make sure their immunisations are up to date.