MMR vaccine uptake has risen for the first time in SIX years, new figures reveal 

The percentage of children having the MMR vaccine has risen for the first time in six years, figures show.

The proportion receiving their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella jab increased to 90.6 per cent last year.

It is still below the 95 per cent that health experts say is required for herd immunity, but this is the first time that MMR coverage in England has risen after a peak of 92.7 per cent in 2013/14.

The increase follows the Daily Mail’s Give The Children Their Jabs campaign to reverse declining rates by ending ignorance and misinformation over the jab, which has been targeted by anti-vaxxers.

Before vaccination there were hundreds of thousands of measles cases in epidemic years, but the disease was effectively eradicated in the UK after the vaccine was introduced.

However, a now-discredited study by London doctor Andrew Wakefield in 1998, wrongly linking the MMR jab to autism, saw rates decline.

He was later struck off by the General Medical Council, which ruled that he had been ‘dishonest, irresponsible and showed callous disregard for the distress and pain’ of children.

NHS Digital figures show uptake of the first MMR dose rose slightly from 90.3 per cent in 2018/19 to 90.6 per cent in 2019/20.

Two doses of the vaccine are required to ensure full protection from measles and coverage at five years was 94.5 per cent, the same as the previous year.

Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, said: ‘The slight rise in uptake of routine childhood vaccinations in England is a step in the right direction, but we must still take urgent action to overcome the ongoing trend of missing the 95 per cent target set out by the World Health Organisation.

‘Low levels of vaccination coverage matter as it means diseases such as measles have the potential to spread within our communities, infecting unvaccinated people, including vulnerable individuals unable to have vaccinations such as young babies or people with cancer.’

Regional data shows coverage increased in six of the nine English regions in 2019/20 compared with the previous year, but fell in three. Eight out of nine regions achieved 90 per cent coverage, with only London falling well short.

The North East had the highest level of coverage at 95.1 per cent and was the only region to exceed the target of 95 per cent.

London had the lowest coverage at 83.6 per cent, but this was up from 83 per cent the year before.

Coverage for the combined jab to protect against diseases including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio in two-year-olds was below the 95 per cent target for the second consecutive year.

But for one-year-olds, coverage was up slightly and it was up again by age five.

For the meningitis B jab, coverage in England at the age of 24 months was 88.7 per cent in 2019/20 – up from 87.8 per cent in 2018/19.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS national director of primary care, said: ‘Vaccines provide vital protection against life-threatening diseases and so it is great that coverage of MMR is increasing, but we want even more parents to come forward and get their children vaccinated.

‘NHS staff are working hard to ensure that MMR and other vital vaccination appointments are still going ahead safely throughout the pandemic, so as a mum and a GP I want to remind other parents that getting your kids their vaccination is not only safe, but potentially life-saving.’

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: ‘Childhood vaccination coverage remains high and last year saw an encouraging improvement in uptake. However, there is still much work to be done to return to peak levels.’