CHILDREN in the UK could be at risk of catching measles as anxious parents stay away from GP surgeries because of the coronavirus.

Fewer children in the UK have been having their measles mumps and rubella (MMR) jabs due to the pandemic, which could lead to an outbreak of the illnesses.

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A study conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that immunisation rates that were already at a seven-year low have dropped significantly compared to this time last year.

Those going to have their jabs fell by a quarter during lockdown and many children are now unprotected from the illnesses. 

3,500 fewer children have had the jab compared to this time last year.

In regions such as London and the West Midlands immunisation fell even further, meaning many more children are at risk.

The lead author of the report Helen McDonald told The Sun today that it it's "really important that parents continue to take their children for their vaccinations during the pandemic".

The study looked at a sample of children nationally and McDonald said the drops in children being vaccinated isn't always happening in areas where there has been a higher infection rate of Covid.

"It’s a national phenomenon, and there is a possibility that people struggling to get appointments with GPs coincided with this".

VITAL VACCINES

The MMR uptake started to fall in mid-march, just before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced lockdown measures.

The measures urged people to stay at home and to only go to the doctors for urgent issues. Many surgeries have barriers up in order to stop people entering and other charities and campaigns have stated that people in other demographics have also been sitting at home with symptoms of other illnesses because they are too afraid to go to the surgery for help.

In the week Mr Johnson announced the lockdown measures there was a 24 per cent fall in children getting their first MMR jabs in comparison to 2019.

This is while rates of children getting the vaccines in London and Greater Manchester were down 43 per cent on last year.

The report, pre-published in Medrxiv stated: "The greatest percent decrease in MMR vaccination was seen in London, which had a high early burden of Covid-19. However, decreases in MMR vaccination were also seen in regions with a low incidence of Covid-19 infection during this period, suggesting that the changes were not solely due to Covid-19 infection burden. 

"Regional variation might also be explained by local communications, which may have mitigated the fall in some areas".

Rates of vaccination in the West Midlands was also down 29 per cent.

So far in the UK over 33,000 people have died from the coronavirus and the MMR figures show that the pandemic has created unintended consequences across the board.

What is the MMR vaccine?

The MMR is a safe and effective combined vaccine that protects against three separate illnesses – measles, mumps and rubella, which is also known as German measles – in a single injection.

The full course of MMR vaccination requires two doses, and is administered at one year of age, and at around three years four months.

What are the side affects?

The NHS has outlined some of the typical side effects of the vaccine.

• mild measles for up to 11 days after the jab
  
• high tempreature and loss of appetite for two to three days
• three to four weeks after some chidren have mild mumps
• up to three weeks after some adult women can have painful joints
• children could have an allergic reaction to the jab

Despite the drop in vaccination rates in March, rates rose again in mid-April as NHS Trusts encouraged people to return to surgeries for essentials.

McDonald said that this was "encouraging" but added that this needed to be sustained in order to make sure there was not a backlog of children being vaccinated.

"It's important children are vaccinated as when social distancing is relaxed nurseries will open again. If the improvement is not sustained there could be a risk when they do reopen".

In conclusion the report stated: "It is vital that routine childhood vaccinations continue, particularly for diseases such as measles for which a high coverage is required to prevent outbreaks.

"Decreased vaccine counts have also been reported in other high-income countries, and the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization has advised that routine immunization services should continue to aim for high population immunity.

"Countries will require immunisation recovery plans with innovative approaches to delivery that maintain social distancing requirements."

It was also highlighted that some vaccines are delivered through schools and that these institutions will also require catch up programmes after the pandemic.

"Continuous and timely assessment of vaccine coverage will be required to respond to potentially volatile changes during the Covid-19 pandemic."

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