A surge in the number of measles cases across the country has prompted a plea for parents to ensure their children are given a vital jab.
The plea comes in part because take up rates for most types of vaccine have tended to be below average in Brighton and Hove.
At Hove Town Hall this afternoon (Wednesday 10 April), Labour councillor Theresa Fowler spoke out at a meeting of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor Fowler, who chaired the meeting, told colleagues: “Measles is a highly infectious disease which can lead to serious illness.
“The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine provides excellent protection against measles and it is free on the NHS.”
A recent UK Health Security Agency briefing said that there had been a resurgence of measles in England, mainly in London and the Midlands.
At the same time, coverage for the MMR vaccine has fallen to the lowest level in a decade although it is understood that there has been a recent increase Brighton and Hove.
Most cases have spread among children and young people and health chiefs said that it could be a serious illness for some and occasionally fatal.
Councillor Fowler added: “To see if your child is up to date with their MMR vaccine, check their red book or contact your GP practice.
“If anyone has missed one or both doses of the MMR vaccine, contact your GP practice to book an appointment.
“It’s never too late to catch up on your MMR vaccination.
“If you or a family member develops any symptoms of measles, contact your GP by phone.
“Please do not go to your GP, walk-in centre or any other healthcare setting without calling ahead as measles is very infectious.”
I am old now, but I had measles very very badly when I was a young child at primary school., so the 1950s. Back then there was no vaccine, as there is today. My whole school class went down with it, because it was little understood and the school carried on operating normally as if nothing had happened. I nearly died from it, but did eventually recover somehow. I cannot stress too strongly the potential consequences of having this ‘childhood disease’ which may sound trivial, but it isn’t- it can have a lot of side-effects which last into later life and it can actually kill you in rare cases.
So, for the sake of a jab or two, it is very worthwhile to get the MMR vaccine done for your child, and that’s not a message from the council or the NHS – just recalled experience of what happened to me all those years ago.
Totally agree.
However the distrust of the (jab that shall not be mentioned for fear of censorship) has had a secondary effect of causing a lower take-up of all vaccinations.
What is needed is a campaign to assure people that the MMR is a old school vaccine and unlikely to have same risks/side-effects as the newer types.
A friend,s unvaccinated 5 children all caught measles last year . One aged 17 has permanent ear / hearing damage . Another had truly horrific symptoms that lasted weeks , one had their head swell on one side so bad that it affected their breathing . This vaccine saves lives and severe trauma
Andrew Wakefield did more to ruin healthcare in the community than any other with his fearmongering, and proven outright lie. It is little wonder why he was disbarred as a Gastroenterologist.
I had measles as a nipper. Still here and strong as an ox. Only a risk for kids with compromised immune systems or underprivileged kids.
Incorrect Barry. Firstly, are you sure you want to go with the “well I was fine” argument? You know what I’m going to say to that don’t you?
Also, getting measles as an adult can have more serious complications, like encephalitis, and that can lead to things like seizures.
So only a risk to kids is fundamentally incorrect.
I’d forgotten about Wakefield, although I’ve just looked him up and now remember it all. I agree that some sort of campaign may be needed to encourage further take-up of the vaccination because measles itself is a dangerous thing. I don’t remember very much from my childhood, but I do remember the GP coming round (I was bedridden with the thing at the time and unable to eat) and telling us that if I didn’t eat soon I would have to go to hospital to be forcibly fed. I don’t know if that was scaremongering or not but it worked. Mum gradually weaned me on to some very basic food, such as half a boiled egg and a couple of soldiers, and I eventually recovered. This all may sound daft now, but if there is a safe vaccine out there, then kids should have it. Similarly, some of you may remember polio, which thankfully has been eradicated in the UK, but it still exists in some parts of the world. There was a girl down our road who had contracted it and she was virtually a cripple, poor soul. When the vaccine for that came out (mid-50s I think) Mum had me straight down the clinic for the jab – I think it’s not a jab now, but something oral – and I’ve had boosters over the years when travelling abroad to places where the disease still exists. In my book, the message is that if there’s a safe vaccine out there, then have it – it’s a whole lot better than contracting the disease.
I’ve been a front line Paediatrician and Gp for nearly 50 years. I remember having arguments with a homeopath who refused to vaccinate his child against whooping cough and a few months later called me and my partners out nightly for weeks as the child was virtually moribund during the regular paroxysms of coughing. His homeopathic remedies were ineffective and the poor child developed pneumonia and deafness.
I have never NEVER SEEN a serious adverse effect from any of the childhood vaccinations but children still get seriously ill from all of the infections themselves.