Liverpool City Council’s Public Health team has devised a multi-media marketing campaign to remind parents across England to vaccinate their children against serious diseases. The campaign, developed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, NHS North West, NHS Greater Manchester, and Liverpool City Council, goes live on 4 March and features a powerful video from the perspective of children warning that measles and whooping cough risks are rising. The children tell parents that without vaccination, they will not be protected. Feedback from parents informed the campaign theme and materials.
England’s vaccination levels have slipped over the past decade, including for vaccines protecting against measles and rubella, meningitis, polio, and whooping cough. Consequently, England no longer possesses the WHO-recommended level of population immunity needed to prevent outbreaks, and low vaccine uptake increases health inequalities. In Liverpool, only 71% of children receive the two required doses of MMR. Consequently, UKHSA launched a national marketing campaign coordinated with an NHS operational MMR catch-up campaign. Areas with low uptake receive particular focus, and parents of six-to-eleven-year-olds will be directly invited to book appointments with their GP practices for missed MMR vaccines.
The WHO recently reiterated its warnings that sub-optimal vaccination rates increase the risk of measles, with over half of the world facing higher measles risk. In Europe and areas of high circulation, the WHO predicts the virus’s seasonal peak to come in the coming months, heightening importation probability. Dr. Jenny Harries, CEO of the UKHSA, said the campaign aimed to encourage parents to check their children’s vaccination record and book GP appointments to receive missed immunisations. Councillor Harry Doyle, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet member for Public Health, said that immunisation’s key to preventing future outbreaks and epidemics and expressed pride that the city’s public health team played a fundamental role in creating the campaign. Professor Matt Aston, Liverpool’s Director of Public Health, points out that MMR uptake levels fall under the 95% target necessary to prevent outbreaks and highlights the need to mitigate the risks of serious illnesses. Vaccination is free and easy, and Aston urges parents of non-vaccinated children to book appointments with GP practices
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