Children in England to be offered vaccines in their own homes

Under the scheme, nurses and midwives will specialise in working with families with children under five to identify health needs as early as possible. Photograph: David Gee 4/Alamy

Health visitors will be sent door-to-door to deliver vaccines to children in England amid alarm that one in five start primary school with no protection against deadly diseases, the Guardian can reveal.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that at least 95% of children should receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity. However, not a single one of the main childhood vaccines in England hit the target in 2024-25. There were also sharp differences in uptake across the country.