Officials have said Wirral could see "numerous" measles outbreaks due to “startling” trends showing vaccination rates are decreasing.
Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious complications including blindness, pneumonia, meningitis, seizures and in some cases, death.
The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination has seen a downwards trend in recent years but Wirral has seen a bigger decrease than 75% of councils across England. In some GP practices, uptake was as low as 67% in 2021/22.
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While more than 95% of children still received one MMR vaccination in 2021/22, this was a bigger decrease compared to two-thirds of councils and the percentage of children receiving two doses before 5 was well below the 95% target.
A report on Wirral Council’s health protection strategy warned that “not being able to attain herd immunity levels of 95% or above increases the potential for the resurgence of measles.”
Cllr Phil Gilchrist said the "figures in the report were quite startling” and asked what could be done to increase the numbers.
Elspeth Anwar, a public health doctor, said decreasing vaccination rates was “a national issue, not a Wirral issue” and work will be done with GP practices across the borough to increase vaccination rates.
She said there also would be community engagement to show why it’s important to parents for children to receive MMR doses before they go to school.
Helen Stott, head of Health Protection at the council, said: “In years to come, we could have numerous outbreaks of measles so it’s really important we take control of this at the moment and work to help raise awareness of the importance of the MMR vaccination.”
Ms Stott said low vaccination rates were being seen in both east and west Wirral.
Antibiotic resistance was also noted as an issue of concern in the report given the high number of antibiotics given out in Wirral. Overuse of antibiotics can increase resistance in bacteria.
The report said this could lead to “prolonged illnesses and higher numbers of deaths” and increases the risk of infection for minor surgeries.
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