Vaccination rates for ALL 14 childhood jabs ‘has fallen in the last year’

Vaccination rates among children have fallen across the board, official data revealed today.

As few as 84 per cent of under-5s in England were inoculated against serious illnesses, such as diphtheria, tetanus and polio by March 2022.

Uptake fell by up to 1.3 per cent compared to last year across the 14 routine vaccines offered to youngsters, such as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).

Health chiefs warned even this small decline can lead to a rise in cases and trigger potentially deadly outbreaks. 

None of the jabs were taken by 95 per cent of under-fives — a key target set by the World Health Organization to stop outbreaks. 

Officials said the ‘extremely worrying’ figures were likely impacted by the Covid pandemic.

They urged parents to check their children’s jabs re up to date and book them in ‘as soon as possible’ if they are not to give them ‘maximum protection against what can be terrible diseases’.

The NHS Digital data, which shows vaccination rates up to March 2022, revealers that just 89.2 per cent of children had received the MMR vaccine by the age of two — down from 90.2 per cent one year earlier.

Among regions, MMR uptake was highest in the North East (94.5 per cent) and lowest in London (79.9 per cent). 

But the disparity was even greater among local authorities. In South Tyneside, 97.7 per cent of two-year-olds had been given the jab, while the rate was a third lower in Hackney, east London (65.4 per cent).

Just 16 of 149 local authorities hit the WHO target 95 per cent, while 61 logged uptake below 90 per cent — including all parts of London.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘Measles is highly contagious and can be dangerous, and it is extremely worrying that we are seeing levels of uptake of the MMR vaccine falling among young children. 

‘It is also vitally important that children get their polio vaccinations to help prevent the risk of paralysis. 

‘I would urge parents to check that all children are up to date with their vaccines, and if not to get them booked in as soon as possible to make sure they have maximum protection against what can be terrible diseases. 

‘Childhood vaccines also boost population immunity levels, helping prevent outbreaks, so by taking up all vaccinations for our children, we play our part in keeping these diseases confined to the past.’