A RISE in the spread of infections like measles has led the health secretary to suggest that vaccinations could become compulsory for children going to school in England.
But what are the current rules and why might the change be necessary?
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What’s been happening to vaccination rates?
The NHS recommends a number of vaccinations to protect your child from infections like measles, mumps, rubella, polio and tetanus.
Not only will immunisation help keep your child safe, it will stop them passing on infections to other children and allowing disease to spread.
Recent years have seen rates of people getting vaccinated fall across Europe, and the UK was recently stripped of its “measles-free” status by the World Health Organisation.
The reasons for the decline in uptake are unclear, but NHS England has warned that so-called “vaccine deniers” are gaining traction online and on social media.
In recent decades, some parents have become less willing to vaccinate their children because of false claims made by certain campaign groups claiming a link between vaccinations and genetic conditions like autism.
Measles is a particularly dangerous condition, and can lead to damage to the lungs and brain, but 2018 saw 82,500 cases reported across Europe, the highest number in a decade and three times the total for the previous year.
What are the current rules?
Parents in England are currently allowed to refuse to let their child get vaccinated, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said he is “looking very seriously” at changing that.
Some experts have suggested that compulsory vaccination may be necessary to address falling rates, and Hancock has said that he has taken legal advice on how the government could go about it.
Over the last four years, the proportion of children receiving both doses of the MMR jab by their fifth birthday has fallen to 87.2 per cent.
Herd immunity – the level of immunisation at which a population is considered to be protected from a disease – is around 95 per cent.
Hancock said he did not want reach the point of imposing jabs, but that he would “rule nothing out”.
“When the state provide service to people then it’s a two-way street,” he said.
“You have to take your responsibilities too.”
There are currently no plans to make vaccines compulsory in Wales.
What vaccinations do the NHS recommend?
The NHS recommends that babies under 12 months old receive the following vaccinations:
- 6-in-1 vaccine to immunise against diphtheria, hepatitis B, Hip (Haemophilus influenzae type b), polio, tetanus, and whooping cough.
- Pneumococcal vaccine to guard against bacteria that can lead to pneumonia, septicaemia, and meningitis.
- MenB vaccine to protect against infection by the bacteria group responsible for more than 90 per cent of meningococcal infections – which can lead to meningitis and sepsis – in young children.
- Rotavirus vaccine to guard against the rotavirus, a highly infectious stomach bug that typically causes vomiting, stomach ache, and fever in babies and young children.
A number of vaccinations are also recommended for children aged one to 15:
- 4-in-1 pre-school booster to boost defences against diphtheria, polio, tetanus, and whooping cough.
- 3-in-1 teenage booster to boost defences against diphtheria, polio, and tetanus.
- MMR jab, to immunise against measles, mumps, and rubella.
- The HPV vaccine, to provide protection from human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cancers of the cervix, mouth, throat, and genitals.
- Children’s flu vaccine, a yearly nasal spray to guard against flu, which can be much more serious for children than it is for adults.
- Hib/MenC vaccine, a single injection given to one-year-old babies to protect against the potentially-fatal Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and meningitis C viruses.
- MenACWY vaccine, recommended for teenagers and students going to university to guard against potentially-fatal meningitis and septicaemia.
