In a radical move to combat dangerously low childhood immunisation rates, the NHS is launching a door-to-door vaccination service for children across England. The Guardian can reveal that a £2m pilot scheme, starting in January, will see health visitors administer life-saving jabs in family homes.
A Crisis in Childhood Protection
The urgent initiative comes amid serious alarm that one in five children now start primary school without vital protection against deadly diseases. Official data for 2024-25 shows not a single main childhood vaccine in England met the World Health Organization's 95% herd immunity target.
According to UK Health Security Agency figures reviewed by the Guardian, uptake has plummeted to worrying lows. Only 91.9% of five-year-olds received a first dose of the MMR vaccine in 2024-25, the worst level since 2010-11. The rate for both necessary MMR doses was just 83.7%, while the preschool booster protecting against polio, whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria reached only 81.4%.
How the Home Vaccination Scheme Will Work
The pioneering programme will deploy qualified health visitors—nurses and midwives specialising in early years care—directly to families struggling to access traditional services. They will target households not registered with a GP or facing barriers like travel costs, childcare issues, or language difficulties.
Twelve pilot areas will launch in January across five English regions: London, the Midlands, the North-East and Yorkshire, the North-West, and the South-West. The NHS will use GP records, health visitor notes, and local databases to identify eligible children. Health visitors will receive special training to safely administer vaccines and engage with parents, including those hesitant about immunisation safety.
If the pilot proves successful, the government plans a nationwide rollout in 2027.
Ministerial Response and a Wider Health Challenge
Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated: "Every parent deserves the chance to protect their child from preventable diseases, but some families have a lot going on and that can mean they miss out." He emphasised that using trusted health visitors leverages existing community relationships to tackle health inequalities head-on.
The vaccine drive launches as the NHS faces "extraordinary pressure" from high rates of flu and winter viruses. The situation is starkly illustrated by the case of a child who died in Liverpool from measles in July—the UK's first such death in a decade. In Liverpool, only 73% of children are fully vaccinated against measles.
Internationally, the UK ranks as the worst among G7 nations for MMR uptake, with just 89% of children receiving a first dose as of 2024.
In a related development, the NHS will from Friday begin rolling out a new chickenpox (varicella) vaccine. This jab, previously costing around £150 privately, will be offered as part of a new combined MMRV vaccine at GP practices, eventually replacing the current MMR vaccine for babies.
