Figures released this month show that activity to encourage parents of young children to have first and second vaccinations of MMR has started to show success.

This year the NHS has seen a spike in the number of cases of measles across England and has encouraged everyone who has not had their first or second MMR dose to get vaccinated against it.

The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella. These spread easily and can lead to other serious issues such as meningitis and hearing loss. Long term protection is given by having both doses – typically at 1 year old and then a second dose at 3 years and 4 months.

From October 2023 up to 24 June 2024 across England, there have been 2,039 confirmed cases of measles. 33 percent, or 663 cases have been in the West Midlands and 9 percent or 176 in the East Midlands.

To boost uptake healthcare teams have organised vaccination clinics in schools, in libraries and in community centres; GPs have been encouraged to run additional clinics and contact families where vaccination is outstanding and awareness raising campaigns have been run to remind parents of the benefits of vaccination.

Figures from the most recent quarter (January to March 2024) show that there has been an overall increase in the coverage of the MMR vaccines for children up to 5 years old. Coverage uptake for the second vaccine (MMR2) is 85.6%. This shows an increase of 0.6%, from 85%, in the previous quarter.

Dr Ash Banerjee, West Midlands Head of Public Health at NHS England in the Midlands said: “After a period of decline, we are happy to see that people are being vaccinated against these illnesses, but we still urge others, who are yet to receive them, to get vaccinated to protect as many people as possible.”

Anyone can go to their GP surgery and request the MMR vaccine.