More children and young people in North West getting MMR jab

Health bosses in the North West have reported a significant increase in uptake of the MMR jab

Health bosses in North-West England have reported a significant increase in uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab.

There has been a big push for parents and carers to get their children vaccinated, amid rising measles cases.

Latest figures showed there had been 54 confirmed cases across the North West since 1 October 2023.

Greater Manchester was one of several areas flagged up as being most at risk due to a lower uptake.

Dr Paula Cowan, North West regional medical director for primary care and a GP in Wirral, said: "The World Health Organization (WHO), are looking for a 95% uptake in MMR, measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

"What we're seeing in the North West is around the 85% mark so we really did a big push to encourage people to come forward for those vaccinations."

'It hasn't gone away'

She added: "I suppose people felt it (measles) had gone away and it hasn't gone away, and that's why we really needed to push the vaccination programme and encourage people to come forward."

Since January, the NHS, UK Health Security Agency and local authorities had been urging millions of parents and carers to book their children and young people in for missed MMR vaccinations to protect them from becoming seriously unwell.

The new figures published by the NHS showed that between 1 January and 24 March a total of 360,964 MMR vaccinations were delivered.

This was up almost a quarter (23%) from 293,847 in 2023. It included 187,737 first doses and 171,635 second doses.

Tens of thousands more vaccinations were said to have been delivered nationally in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2023.

The most significant increase in vaccinations was for those aged five to 25, with 75,499, four times as many vaccinations, in the first three months of 2024 than 18,433 in the same period last year.

More than a million parents and carers of children aged six to 11, including thousands in the North West, were invited to book an appointment with their child's GP practice.

Throughout February and March, over a million children and young adults aged 11 to 25 in Greater Manchester, London and the West Midlands were also encouraged to book an appointment.

These areas were said to be most at risk due to the number of people not up-to-date on their MMR vaccinations.