UK Reports MMR Vaccine Rates Returning to Normal
Thu May 16, 2:27 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters Health) - The number of British children who received the controversial measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine dropped over the winter but rates are picking up again, public health officials said on Thursday.

Vaccination rates for children aged 16 months--around the time the first shot is normally given--fell from 76.2% in December 2001 to 70.1% in March 2002, the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) said.

Officials note that the drop coincided with "the intense adverse publicity about MMR over the Christmas and New Year period," but say that uptake at this age had risen again to 72% by April.

The new figures also showed that the percentage of 2-year-olds receiving the vaccine fell from 85.8% in December 2001 to 84.4% in March, but had reached 85.9% by April.

Before Christmas last year, newspapers fueled speculation over whether British Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites)'s baby son, Leo, was given the MMR vaccine.

In January, more than 1,000 British families joined a legal battle for millions of pounds compensation for harm they claim was caused to their children by MMR vaccines.

A month later, Blair's official spokesman accused journalists of whipping up "media hysteria" over the issue and warned that increasing unfounded fears about MMR could have dangerous consequences.

"We frequently see falls in vaccine uptake associated with periods of adverse publicity, but the falls are usually temporary and followed by a degree of recovery," said Dr. Mary Ramsay of the PHLS. "This appears to have been the case over recent months and now many parents are 'catching-up' with the vaccination schedule."

Concern that the triple childhood vaccination might trigger autism has led some parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated, resulting in outbreaks of measles in various parts of the country.

Ramsay said there was "an overwhelming body of evidence" supporting the safety of the triple combination.

"By contrast there is no good evidence on the safety and effectiveness of using single vaccines, as some are suggesting," she added.

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