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Health chief pleads with parents over MMR jabs
Uptake of the MMR triple vaccine has fallen to its lowest level since 2000 in Scotland, it emerged yesterday. Scotland's Chief Medical Officer renewed his call for parents to immunise their children with the controversial injection after the publication of quarterly figures to the end of March showing that the uptake rate has fallen from 86.6 to 86.1 per cent. Mac Armstrong said failure to inoculate children would result in the return of the potentially fatal diseases of mumps, measles and rubella. Uptake of the MMR vaccine has fallen to well below the 95 per cent level required for herd immunity as a result of studies linking it to autism and bowel disease. Dr Armstrong said: "Immunisation in early childhood is still the safest and most effective way of protecting all children and the wider community against the risks of serious infectious diseases. The Scottish Executive will continue to work with health professionals and parents to restore confidence in MMR." He added: "It should be remembered that postponing vaccination, or leaving children unvaccinated, poses risks to the whole community and could result in an outbreak of these potentially fatal diseases." Opposition politicians called for parents to be given the choice of inoculating with three single vaccines for the three diseases. Shona Robison, the Scottish National Party health spokesman, said the figures were "concerning". She said: "The messages which were used to try to reassure parents appear to have had a limited effect with some not heeding the warnings and choosing to opt out from having their children vaccinated. This is why we must consider making single vaccines available." David Davidson, the Tory health spokesman, said many parents were "most alarmingly" choosing not to vaccinate their children at all. "Scottish Conservatives have always believed that MMR is the most effective way to tackle measles mumps and rubella." He said: "A significant number of parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated with MMR and most alarmingly many are choosing not to vaccinate their children at all. It is now crucial that the Scottish government allows parents who wish to have their children vaccinated with a single injection to do so. Parents must be given choice over the way their children are treated."
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