Health officials have urged people to come forward for the measles vaccine if they are not up to date with their shots after a child at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool died from the disease.
The city has experienced a surge in cases among young people, with the hospital warning parents last week that the spike in infections was due to falling rates of uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The child was ill with measles and other health problems and was receiving treatment at the Alder Hey, according to the Sunday Times.
A statement from the Alder Hey Children’s NHS trust said: “To respect patient confidentiality, we can’t comment on individual cases.”
Uptake of the vaccine has fallen across the country in the past decade with rates across England now at 84%. In Liverpool, only 73% of children aged five have received the necessary two shots, while in parts of London uptake is below 65%. To ensure herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading, vaccination rates must hit 95%.
“The NHS MMR vaccine gives lifelong protection against becoming seriously unwell, so with cases of measles on the rise, it is not worth the risk of going without this vital protection,” said Chris Streather, the medical director for the NHS in London.
“Measles, mumps and rubella are preventable, but catching them is easy when people are unvaccinated, so I urge people to come forward and get the MMR vaccine sooner, rather than later,” he added.
Herd immunity is particularly important to reduce the risk of vulnerable people being exposed to the virus. Children with suppressed immune systems, for example, can still fall seriously ill with measles even if they have had the vaccine.
Dr Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said measles was one of the most highly infectious diseases and spreads easily among people who are unvaccinated.
“Speaking as a doctor and a mother, I strongly encourage all parents to ensure their children have the best possible protection but also to think about protecting other more vulnerable children,” she said. “Please act now to ensure your children are fully protected. You can check their immunisation red book or speak with the GP surgery.”
Childhood vaccination programmes have been extremely effective at preventing infections and serious illness among children over the past 50 years, but falling rates of uptake have led to a rise in cases and deaths. “It’s heartbreaking because it’s entirely preventable,” said Helen Bedford, a professor of children’s health at University College London. “No child needs to even catch the disease let alone be seriously affected or die.”
Vaccine hesitancy is often blamed for declines in immunisation rates, but much of the problem is driven by a lack of information on the importance of vaccines, knowing which shots are due when, and difficulties in getting appointments. Last week, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said there was a “critical need” to shift the focus from vaccine hesitancy to addressing the barriers and access issues that families face.
“A lot of this is simple. We know that reminding parents is very effective because people have busy lives and these things can often be forgotten,” Bedford said.
“It’s about people not knowing what’s due and when, or how to go about getting it, and every day we see stories about how difficult it is to make GP appointments. We need a multi-pronged approach and to think more creatively about how services are set up and how and where they’re offered.”
“Overall, the vaccine programme is so successful that people don’t have experience of the disease any more,” Bedford added. “Last year was the highest number of confirmed cases we’ve seen since the 1990s. Most people, most young parents, have never experienced a really sick child and it can be difficult to advise parents about a disease that they’ve got no conception of.”