Parents heed warning on MMR

OLDHAM parents have responded well to drives by health bosses to encourage the take up of the MMR vaccine after five cases of measles were reported in the borough.

More than 500 additional children and young people up to the age of 18 have been vaccinated in catch-up clinics since March 16.

But health officials warn that more needs to be done and are encouraging anyone who hasn’t already had their children vaccinated to heed the call.

Encouraged

Alan Higgins, director of public health for Oldham, said that parents had already been encouraged to get their children immunised at 13 months, with a booster jab before going to school.

Catch-up clinics for older children and teenagers who missed out on MMR vaccination when they were toddlers had also been running.

He said: “When we started to receive reports of measles cases in Oldham, we launched a telephone information service that parents could ring if they weren’t sure if their children had been vaccinated previously.

“They were also able to get details of where and when immunisation clinics were being held.

“The campaign has been a huge success. Parents responded with a great deal of practical common sense, as you would expect, enabling us to vaccinate more than 500 children and teenagers in the past fortnight alone.”

But with 17 cases of measles being reported across Greater Manchester since the end of February, health experts say we should still be on our guard and are sending out the message that it is not too late for children, teenagers and young adults to be vaccinated.

Dr Rosemary McCann, from the Health Protection Agency, said: “The risk from measles is ongoing in Greater Manchester and we also have mumps here and in many other parts of the region.

“The only certain protection from these potentially very serious infections is to have two doses of MMR vaccine. MMR uptake rates are increasing, but despite these efforts, there remains a large pool of older children and teenagers who remain vulnerable to infection.

“Measles can spread like wildfire when it gets among unvaccinated children and teenagers who play, study and mix socially together.

“Our message to parents is that they should arrange through their family doctors for these unprotected young people to be vaccinated now. It’s not too late.”

Dr McCann said parents can further help prevent the spread of infection by not taking children with symptoms to GP surgeries or hospital accident and emergency unit. If parents suspect that their children may have measles, they should seek advice by phoning the family GP or NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.