Expert fears vaccine theories are affecting uptake

Fewer children are being vaccinated in Lincolnshire than they were before the Covid pandemic

A health expert is worried conspiracy theories about vaccines could be affecting uptake.

The number of young children having some vaccines in Lincolnshire has dropped in the previous five years.

It comes as a rise in whooping cough, which has an effective vaccine, has been responsible for the deaths of at least five infants in England this year.

"They'll protect you from some really horrible diseases," Lincolnshire's Director of Public Health Prof Derek Ward said.

In recent years there has been a growth in online conspiracy theories, which suggest vaccines like the Covid jab are dangerous or ineffective.

Mr Ward said he's "worried that people may believe the conspiracy theories".

But he insists "they are just that, they're just conspiracy theories. What I'm going on is the facts".

He said: "All of the international evidence is that the vaccines we give out in the UK are safe, they are highly effective and they'll protect you from some really horrible diseases."

The MMR jab for five-year-olds, which protects children from measles, mumps and rubella, has seen a drop from around 90% take-up to 83% since the Covid pandemic.

The World Health Organisation recommends a 95% vaccination rate for infectious diseases.

Professor Derek Ward has been the Director of Public Health in Lincolnshire since before the Covid pandemic

• A BBC Sounds podcast investigates the world of conspiracy theories.

Professor Ward is also concerned about the number of children completing a vaccination programme, which can include multiple jabs until they reach primary school age.

"As well as them being lower than they were five or 10 years ago, we're also seeing the amount of children completing their schedules reducing, both of those are a risk and a concern," he added.

Public Health Lincolnshire is asking parents to fill in a survey about why they haven't taken their children for their jabs to better understand people's opinions.

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