The UK's chief medical advisors have issued a warning as children face "serious health risks", according to a new Government update.
Parents and carers are being urged by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to ensure their children are up to date with all their routine childhood immunisations including polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations. This comes as new data shows vaccination coverage for young children fell last year for virtually all programmes.
Part of a Gov.uk statement said: "Measles is highly contagious so even a small decline in MMR uptake can lead to a rise in cases. Since international travel has resumed closer to pre-pandemic levels, it is more likely that measles will be brought in from countries that have higher levels of the disease and cause outbreaks."
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Measles, it said, can lead to complications such as "ear infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain which require hospitalisation and on rare occasions can lead to long term disability or death".
The NHS is running a MMR catch-up campaign so some parents may be contacted directly.
Anyone who is unsure if their child is up to date with all their routine vaccinations should check their child’s red book (personal child health record) in the first instance. If you are still not sure, or if you need to bring your child up to date with their vaccines, contact your GP practice to check and book an appointment.
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