Thousands of children in Northern Ireland have not been fully vaccinated against Measles, Mumps and Rubella, a report reveals today.
And the number of children being vaccinated against a range of diseases has been ‘steadily declining’, an Audit Office investigation has found.
The findings also show how Belfast has a “particularly low” level of uptake of the jabs given to children in an effort to manage the spread of certain diseases.
Read more: Belfast family's heartache as dad diagnosed with incurable cancer after beating disease last year
The report finds that “overall vaccination coverage has steadily been declining for almost all diseases and increasing numbers of children have not received all the vaccinations available to maximise protection against harmful diseases”.
Auditors found that across Northern Ireland “there are 15,000 children who have not been fully immunised against Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) over the last seven years”.
The report, published today (May 5), adds that “a total of 10,200 children have not received all the recommended doses of the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) since 2015”.
The 44 pages of findings note that “while this downward trend in coverage is reflected in other parts of the UK”, there are regional variations in the, “with particularly low levels in Belfast”.
It adds: “Within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust area, 1 in 3 children have not been fully immunised against pneumococcal disease since 2015, and 1 in 7 have missed ‘6-in-1’1 vaccine doses which protect against multiple diseases, over the last seven years.”
The Northern Ireland’s Comptroller & Auditor General report on Pre-School Vaccinations in Northern Ireland “considers outcomes of vaccination against 14 infectious diseases among pre-school children, and the benchmarking of vaccination coverage against the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target of 95 per cent, recommended to ensure population immunity”.
Auditor General Dorinnia Carville said: “Vaccination against infectious disease remains one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to help manage the health of a population. However, as many vaccine-preventable diseases require a series of immunisations to be administered to infants and small children at pre-determined intervals, overall effectiveness is heavily reliant on consistently high levels of participation.
“Whilst there is no single reason for the declining rates of vaccination coverage shown, workforce shortages and delivery capacity within GP practices in Northern Ireland are likely to have contributed to the overall trend. It is hugely important that there is a comprehensive plan of action to reverse the decline.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) vaccination target is 95% to ensure population immunity.
The report said that vaccination rates in three of Northern Ireland’s five health trusts were close to or above the WHO target.
The report said the success of any large-scale vaccination programme will be dependent on addressing issues including “the lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities which has arisen in relation to the administration of vaccinations provided through GP practices” and “the fact that some GPs have not met vaccination coverage targets set by the Department of Health”.
The report also looked at the seasonal flu vaccine which has been administered to children between two and four years of age since 2013-14.
It said that for the 2019-20 season, a vaccination target of 60% was set by the Department of Health (DoH) for this group. However, the coverage achieved was 48.5%.
The report said that even with an improved uptake (55.2%) for the 2020-21 flu season, rates of coverage continued to be well below target.
READ NEXT:
NI man's monthly fundraising challenges for Marie Curie in memory of loved ones
Woman who went to doctor with menopause symptoms left 'numb' by brain tumour diagnosis
- 'She believed in goodness': Tributes after death of NI mental health nurse
NI woman on finding comfort in Hospice Walks after losing her parents
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
