Islanders urged to get vaccinated against diseases

Prof Peter Bradley said at-risk patients needed to get vaccinated

Health bosses need to keep pressing home the importance of islanders getting vaccinated to protect them against serious diseases, according to Jersey's head of Public Health.

Jersey met 10 out of 14 pre-school vaccination targets recommended by the World Health Organisation, according to the latest health figures for 2024.

Prof Peter Bradley said "vaccinations protect us against serious disease" and added there was a "continual need" to get the message to patients.

Vaccination levels for pre-school boosters, which help protect people against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and German measles, were at 93.2 %, just below the 95% target, health bosses said.

Take-up of teenage vaccinations for the herpes virus – HPV - were at about the 80% target and compared well with other parts of the British Isles, according to the latest figures.

However, only 9% of islanders aged 60, and 27% of those aged 70, had the shingles vaccine in 2024, which was below the targets.

Prof Bradley said he hoped more people aged over 60 would take advantage of the free vaccine and added: "The shingles vaccine does protect you for quite a nasty disease."

'Effective and safe'

Maitiu O'Tuathail, Jersey GP, said the most common complication from shingles was "horrific" chronic pain.

He said: "It's something we still see quite a lot of because the vaccination rates are not where they need to be at."

He said the pain was very difficult to treat and sometimes it never went away but the "effective and safe" shingles vaccine could prevent it.

He urged patients to get vaccinated and said while Jersey's vaccination record was very good there was a need to keep scepticism about jabs at bay.

"The amount of vaccine hesitancy, mistruths, and concern with regard to vaccines are increasing both online and in social media," said Dr O'Tuathail.

He said the States and Public Health needed "to constantly remind people that what they need to do is look at the truth and the facts and not the mistruths and misinformation that's out there".