RED ALERT
Is your child living in a Victorian disease danger zone? The worst UK postcodes revealed
Plus, what vaccines should you or your child have at each age
VACCINATION rates for all children's jabs in England have plummeted, while cases of Victorian-era diseases continue to rise.
Health experts fear several more life-threatening bugs and viruses will "re-emerge" if coverage does not improve soon.
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"Vaccine uptake rates have been falling by a small amount each year for the past 10 years," Prof Helen Bedford, an expert in child public health at University College London, told The Sun.
"This mounts up and means significant numbers of children are not fully protected against potentially serious infectious diseases."
The UK Health Security Agency will run ad campaigns on TV and social media starting next week in a bid to encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated.
The jabs are free on the NHS and protect against 13 diseases, including measles, polio, diphtheria, mumps, whooping cough, rubella and meningitis.
Read more on vaccines
"All these routine vaccines provide protection against diseases that can make children very ill, result in serious complications which may be life-changing or can kill," Helen added.
"Any of these disease can re-emerge if vaccine levels do not improve."
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends at least 95 per cent of children should be immunised against vaccine-preventable diseases.
However, NHS figures reveal that Britain failed to hit the target for any childhood vaccine last year.
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Already, the UK has lost its hard-won measles-free status, after the WHO warned of rising cases in 2019.
Powerful new video urges all parents to protect their children from surge of deadly Victorian disease as millions ‘at risk'
Dr Vanessa Saliba, from the UKHSA, said we are likely to see "cases and outbreaks occurring and children becoming unwell, hospitalised and suffering needlessly because these are all preventable infections".
At least 650 people have already caught measles since October, and more than three million are still not fully vaccinated.
Earlier this month, cases of the dreaded whooping cough, also known as the '100-day-cough' , reached a 10-year-high.
A total of 412 Brits fell ill with the bacterial infection, medically known as pertussis, in the week leading up to February 4.
Polio has also been found in London's sewers again for the first time in decades.
Here, we reveal the areas in England experiencing the worst Victorian-era disease vaccination rates.
6-in-1 polio/whooping cough
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This jab protects against:
- Diphtheria
- Hepatitis B
- Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b)
- Polio
- Tetanus
- Whooping cough
NHS figures show that overall, by the age of five, 93 per cent of children in England in 2022/2023 received the combined jab given to babies to protect against polio and other diseases such as whooping cough.
London boroughs have seen the worst vaccinate rates in the country.
In Hackney, that figure is just 79 per cent, and in Kensington and Chelsea, and also in Haringey, it’s 84 per cent.
Enfield has the fourth lowest rates of vaccination in the country, with only 85 per cent of children jabbed.
Camden comes in fith with 86 per cent vaccinated.
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Figures from areas outside of London suggest Peterborough is the authority with the lowest proportion of children vaccinated.
Just 87 per cent of children are protected against the diseases.
Next comes Middlesbrough, with 88 per cent of children jabbed.
This is followed by Liverpool and Manchester, both with 89 per cent and Birmingham, 90 per cent.
4-in-1 polio/whooping cough
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This jab protects children against:
- Diphtheria
- Tetanus
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Polio
Data for the booster for polio and other diseases, offered at the age of three, show that just 54 per cent of five-year-olds have received it in Hackney and 60 per cent of children in Camden.
Coming in third worst is Enfield, with 63 per cent jabbed with the proactive dose.
This is followed by Haringley with 64 per cent and Islington with 66 per cent.
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Manchester is suffering from the lowest vaccine rates when looking outside of the big smoke, with just 71 per cent of children in the city fully protected.
Liverpool comes in a close second, with 72 per cent of its children under five jabbed.
Nottingham follows with 73 per cent, Birmingham with 74 per cent and Peterborough with 75 per cent.
MMR (one dose)
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It protects against three serious illnesses:
- Measles
- Mumps
- Rubella
The proportion of children who had received their first MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) jab by five years old dropped to 92 per cent - the lowest level in more than a decade.
Hackney again fell to the bottom of the immunisation table, with just 81 per cent of children in the area vaccinated.
Camden also saw just 81 per cent of children in the local authority vaccinated.
This is followed closely by Enfield, Haringey and Islington - all of which have seen just 83 per cent of local children immunised.
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Out of all the local authorities outside the capital, Peterborough has the lowest proportion of children under five vaccinated with the MMR jab, with just 86 per cent having had their first dose.
Liverpool also makes it into one of the worst-performing areas, with 87 per cent of children jabbed.
Closely following is Birmingham with 88 per cent, Manchester and Nottingham at 89 per cent.
MMR (two doses)
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The figures for five-year-olds who have had two doses of the vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella are lower still.
In England, just 86 per cent of children are vaccinated with those MMR jabs.
Back again in last place is Hackney, with just 65 per cent of children in the area fully protected against the three bugs.
Camden follows next with 64 per cent, then Enfield with 65 per cent and Haringey and Islington both at 66 per cent.
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Beyond London, Liverpool is once again crowned the local authority with the lowest proportion of children protected against measles, mumps and rubella.
Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham all come next, with just 75 per cent of children in the cities fully jabbed, followed by Peterborough with 76 per cent of children vaccinated.
In January, the NHS in England launched a vaccine catch-up programme after figures showed that 3.4million children are not fully vaccinated against measles.
Vaccine update statistics suggest almost one in five children starting school this year are at risk of the potentially dangerous disease.
Susceptibility to the bug is also high among 19- to 25-year-olds, many of whom went unvaccinated because of unfounded concerns about the vaccine in the early 2000s.
Dr Vanessa said the decline in vaccine uptake over the last decade, had been "exacerbated" since the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said that while some people were "resistant" to vaccination, research suggested that attitudes towards vaccination were "positive and getting more positive".
She added: "We think most of the problem relates to complacency, and (parents) are very busy and not getting around to it."
What vaccines should you or your child have at each age?
EIGHT WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine – covers diphtheria, hepatitis B, haemophilus, polio, tetanus and whooping cough
Rotavirus vaccine – for highly infectious stomach bugs that cause diarrhoea and vomiting
MenB vaccine – protects against meningococcal group B bacteria that cause meningitis and sepsis
TWELVE WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine (second dose)
Pneumococcal vaccine – guards against pneumonia and meningitis
Rotavirus vaccine (second dose)
SIXTEEN WEEKS OLD
6-in-1 vaccine (third dose)
MenB vaccine (second dose)
ONE YEAR OLD
Hib/MenC vaccine – haemophilus booster and meningitis C vaccine.
MMR vaccine – guards against measles, mumps and rubella
Pneumococcal vaccine (dose two)
MenB vaccine (third dose)
TWO YEARS TO 11 YEARS
Children’s flu vaccine – given every year until children finish primary school
THREE YEARS AND 4 MONTHS
MMR vaccine (second dose)
4-in-1 pre-school booster – for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio
TWELVE YEARS OLD
HPV vaccine – to protect against cancers including cervical, mouth, throat, anal and genital areas
FOURTEEN YEARS OLD
3-in-1 teenage booster vaccine – diphtheria tetanus and polio
MenACWY vaccine – meningitis
What jabs do adults need?
FLU VACCINE: Over-65s, pregnant women and at-risk health groups
PNEUMONIA: For over-65s and at-risk groups
MMR: Get this at least a month before getting pregnant if you haven’t had it already
SHINGLES: Over-70s
COVID: Children aged six months to four years old if they are at increased risk of getting seriously ill from Covid.Adults who are at increased risk of getting seriously ill from Covid due to a health condition or age will be contacted by the NHS this autumn for a booster.
If you think you or your child has missed a jab, speak to your GP.
It's best to have vaccines on time, but you can still catch up on most vaccines if you miss them.
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