The NHS is 'clearly failing' to ensure children receive the MMR vaccine, leaving them at risk of measles, MPs and health experts have warned. They are calling for an urgent overhaul of England's vaccination system, including allowing pharmacies to administer the jabs, as uptake continues to decline.
In Enfield, north London, where 60 children have recently contracted measles and 15 have been hospitalised, the MMR vaccination rate stands at 64.3%. This is lower than 69.3% in Malawi and just above Afghanistan's 62% rate, far below the 95% recommended by the World Health Organization.
Ben Coleman, a Labour MP on the Commons health and social care select committee, said the system is 'clearly failing' and that children are at risk of hospitalisation and even death. He urged the NHS to accept that GPs and schools alone cannot achieve the needed coverage, adding that pharmacies are 'being wasted as a resource'.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the National Pharmacy Association have backed the call for pharmacy involvement. Prof Steve Turner, the college's president, said enabling pharmacists to deliver MMR vaccines would make it 'faster and easier' for parents to get their children vaccinated.
Experts note that some schools, including faith schools, do not participate in catch-up campaigns, leaving gaps in coverage. A child died of measles last summer at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, underscoring the severity of the situation.
