The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that immunisation prevents 2 to 3 million deaths annually but that, significantly, a further 1.5 million deaths could be avoided with better immunisation.

Immunisation vital to protect everyone

Immunisations help to prevent disease, and have a huge impact upon the wider community and not just for the individual vaccinated – the more people vaccinated, the fewer become ill and the spread of disease is significantly reduced. Therefore, the UK introduced a robust routine immunisation programme which is free to all babies and children on the NHS.

UK MMR immunisation programme

The immunisation programme helped to significantly reduce diseases such as measles with the introduction of the MMR vaccination.

Measles is a highly infectious disease.  In most cases, whilst it is unpleasant, it will pass, but it can have more serious and potentially fatal consequences for those who have not been immunised.

Unfortunately, many parents have delayed immunisation or chosen not to have their child immunised with the MMR vaccination, partly due to research published by Dr Andrew Wakefield that suggested a link between the vaccine and autism. Dr Wakefield has since been struck off the medical register and his work discredited. However his claims had a significant impact upon the uptake of the MMR and the immunisation programme which is highlighted by the recent rise in reported cases of measles, given that the recently reported cases are mainly in adolescents and young adults.

Measles

It should be remembered that it is never too late to be vaccinated and Public Health England (PHE) is asking people to check that they have received two doses of measles mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and to be aware of the signs and symptoms of measles.

Measles begins with:

• high fever
• cough
• runny nose and
• red, watery eyes

Two or three days after symptoms begin:

• Tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth.

Three to five days after symptoms begin:

• A rash will appear – it is made up of flat red-brown spots appearing on the face and spreading downward to the neck first before appearing on the trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
• The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body.
• When the rash appears, a person may develop a high temperature which may reach around 40C (104F).

For a list of childhood immunisations and their time lines, please see the guidance offered by NHS England: