Thursday May 16, 05:24 PM

MMR uptake increases

Uptake of the controversial MMR vaccine is showing signs of recovery in England after a winter dip, despite public concerns over its safety, new figures show.

Data from the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) show that uptake for children aged 16 months fell from 76.2 per cent in December 2001 to 70.1 per cent in March this year. The PHLS says the drop was probably because of the "intense adverse publicity" about the vaccine during this period.

However, latest figures for April show that coverage for this age group has started to increase again and now stands at 72 per cent.

Dr Mary Ramsay from the PHLS said temporary falls in vaccine uptake often happened during periods of bad publicity. She said, "This appears to have been the case over recent months and now many parents are 'catching-up' with the vaccination schedule."

Dr Ramsey said that, although the drop in uptake had been significant, the majority of parents were still having their children immunised with the MMR vaccine. But she said, "We are concerned that where there are local pockets of low vaccine uptake around the country, there is an increased risk of localised outbreaks of disease."

She added that there has been no new research casting doubt on the safety of the vaccine over the last year. Instead there was "further evidence of its safety and effectiveness".

The government, medical royal colleges and the British Medical Association have all continued to back the safety and efficacy of MMR, despite suggestions that it may be linked with autism and Crohn's disease.

Children should receive their first MMR dose at 12-15 months and national monitoring takes place between the ages of two and five. But to gain a more accurate picture of MMR coverage, the PHLS examined a smaller sample of children from across England aged 16 and 24 months.

The World Health Organization recommends that countries achieve a vaccination rate of 95 per cent to completely stamp out measles, mumps and rubella.

© Health Media Ltd 2002

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