Drop in Scots child vaccinations raises alarm
● ‘Social media pseudoscience’ said to be changing parents’ minds
Concern has been raised after it emerged the number of young children in Scotland being vaccinated against common diseases and viruses is falling.
NHS figures showed that last year vaccination rates for children under the age of six dropped slightly in all but three of 17 different measures compared to 2017.
Immunisation rates among young children are falling in Scotland as parents choose not to have them vaccinated against common diseases and viruses, according to official NHS statistics.
Last year vaccination rates for children under the age of six dropped slightly in all but three of 17 different measures compared to 2017, the figures showed.
The results immediately sparked claims that parents were being influenced by “social media pseudoscience”, with the Scottish Government urged to do more to reverse the trend.
Disinformation about vaccines can spread quickly on sites such as Facebook, with concerned parents being told they may do more harm than good to their children.
There are signs that such fears are already having an impact, with unvaccinated children in Greater Manchester driving an increase in measles cases in the area between January and March.
The Scottish figures show that the biggest decrease in Scotland was for the four-inone booster vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio.
Uptake of the vaccine fell by 1.1 per cent among children under the age of five. This was followed by the second dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR), which fell by 1 per cent.
Uptake of the complete twodose course of rotavirus vaccine by age one also fell by 0.6 per cent. The oral vaccine protects against an infection which causes severe diarrhoea.
However, uptake of one dose of the MMR vaccine for children under six was 96.6 per cent last year, meeting the national target of 95 per cent for the tenth year in a row.
The NHS figures also found that children from deprived areas were less likely to have the vaccinations than children from less-deprived areas.
Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Colehamilton described the fall as “seriously concerning news” and said “social media pseudoscience” was partly to blame.
“Denying your children access to life-saving vaccines is irresponsible, ill-informed and dangerous. The government must do all they can to reverse this worrying trend,” he added.
His Scottish Conservative counterpart Miles Briggs said it was up to parents whether or not to immunise their children, but called for ministers to investigate the reason for the fall.
Eileen Mckenna, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said it was important for parents to know that childhood vaccines work.
“They are proven to be effective in protecting children from a variety of potentially serious diseases and have made a massive difference to the health of people in Scotland and across the world,” she added.
A Scottish Government spokesman said childhood immunisation rates across the country were still “very high”.
“This reflects both the hard work and commitment of those working in the NHS and the recognition of the benefits of vaccination,” he added.
“Uptake of the first dose of the MMR vaccine for children up to five continues to exceed the 95 per cent target and as a result, there is no evidence of significant transmission of measles in Scotland among infants or children in primary or secondary school.”