Health officials in Lincolnshire are growing increasingly worried as the number of children receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination continues to decrease in the area. Local General Practitioner, Dr Nathalie Dukes, emphasises the grave consequences of this trend, drawing attention to the relationship between declining vaccination rates and the rise in measles cases. According to NHS data, only 83% of Lincolnshire children received their second dosage of MMR by age five in the period of 2023/24, a decrease from 91% a decade earlier. Dr Dukes puts down this decline to ‘vaccine fatigue’ in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and to an overwhelming amount of information. She warns that many have lost awareness of how serious measles infections can be, and the life-threatening complications they can cause. The World Health Organisation’s herd immunity target is 95%, a goal which North Lincolnshire and other areas of the county are currently not meeting. Parents are encouraged to check their child’s vaccination records and consult with their GP if they have any doubts. As cases of measles are increasing on a national scale, even leading to a heartbreaking death in Liverpool, local health officials are insisting on the essential role of vaccination in protecting the health of the community.
Credit: This story has been reworked from original reporting by www.bbc.com for The Lincoln Post.
