Mums and dads living in Ireland’s super rich suburbs have stopped giving vital jabs to their kids.
The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella - three potentially serious illnesses which can cause devastating complications.
In rare cases mumps can cause infertility in men and deafness.
All three are easily spread from person to person.
But uptake of the MMR among children in the wealthy areas of south-east Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, south county Dublin and east Wicklow is lagging behind the rest of the country.
New figures show these areas, where property prices are the highest in the country, show uptake of the vaccine was 87% in the first quarter of 2019.
In the western counties of Galway Mayo and Roscommon uptake was a healthy 95%
The HSE is urging parents to ensure their children’s vaccinations are up to date.
Dr Suzanne Cotter, HSE specialist in in public health medicine said: “We need to see a vaccination rate of 95% to protect the community. They are not just numbers. They are children and we are talking about children’s lives.”
Two decades ago the percentage of people getting the MMR jab dropped after now discredited research linked the jab to autism.
The numbers getting the vaccine have since recovered but a large numbers of young adults have never received the jab.
Earlier this year there was an outbreak of mumps in Dublin and Louth schools and colleges which led to the postponement of sporting events.
