A campaign has been launched in Cheshire and Merseyside, UK to encourage thousands of school children aged 6-11 to attend appointments for vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Measles is one of the most infectious diseases, with a single infected person potentially passing it on to up to 15 people who have not been vaccinated. It is not merely a rash, but also poses a serious risk to the unvaccinated.
One in five children with measles will require hospital treatment. The illness can lead to serious and even fatal complications, including meningitis and sepsis. There is no specific treatment for measles, making vaccination the best method to protect against serious illness.
Uptake of the MMR vaccine has fallen below the World Health Organisation’s 95% coverage target regarding two doses of the vaccine by the age of five. NHS leaders in Cheshire and Merseyside are urging parents and guardians of children aged 6-11 to book missed vaccinations at GP surgeries in the region to ensure full protection against the disease.
Professor Ian Ashworth, Director of Population Health at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, warned that uptake of routine childhood vaccinations, including MMR, had fallen to a ten-year low and was well below the level needed to prevent outbreaks in the population. Dr Sinead Clarke, local GP and Associate Medical Director for System Quality and Improvement at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, stressed that measles was preventable and that two doses of the vaccine could give “lifelong protection” from measles, mumps and rubella.
Since its introduction in the 1960s, the measles vaccine has been estimated to have saved over 4,500 lives and to have prevented more than 20 million cases. Parents and carers in the Cheshire and Merseyside areas will receive text, email and letter invitations to book vaccinations. Children with measles may initially display minor symptoms such as a cough, but this may rapidly develop into a red brown rash, high fever, reddening eyes, and severe symptoms such as meningitis and septicaemia
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