London’s low child vaccination rates pose growing risk, warns London Assembly Labour
Falling child vaccination rates present an emerging crisis for London, Dr Onkar Sahota, Labour London Assembly spokesperson for health, has warned.
The number of children being vaccinated fell across London in 2022/23, with London performing significantly worse than any other region, new NHS data shows. Dr Sahota has called on the NHS to bring forward an immunisation strategy urgently to address the growing gaps in vaccine coverage.
The capital is the worst performing region in England, with only 74% of children receiving the second dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) by age 5 and 87.4% for the ‘6-in-1’ vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, hep B, Hib, polio, tetanus and whooping cough, by age 2, the ages where the NHS records whether children are up to date with their vaccines.
The NHS has a target vaccination rate of 95%, in line with World Health Organisation guidance. London is failing to hit this target across any of the 14 different vaccine coverage measures reported in 2022/23.
The 14 worst-performing council areas for take-up of MMR 1st and 2nd dose by age 5 are all in London, with Hackney and the City of London seeing just 56.3% of five-year-olds vaccinated.
Dr Sahota has warned that, if these trends continue, herd immunity in the general population is under threat. As under-vaccinated cohorts of children begin to go to school, the risk of outbreaks increases substantially. To avoid the outbreaks of serious illnesses such as measles, polio and diphtheria, he has urged families to check that their children are fully up to date with their vaccines.
Falling vaccination rates were cited as a driver of polio being found in the water supply in East London last year, causing the NHS to deliver a vaccination drive to address the crisis. The presence of polio was cited by the UK Health Security Agency’s immunisation lead, warning last year that the country’s polio eradication status is at risk.
Between 1 January and 30 June 2023, there have been 128 cases of measles, more than double the 54 cases identified in 2022, with 66% of the cases detected in London.
Across England, vaccine rates have declined substantially over the past decade, with the British Society of Immunology saying that the Government’s reforms to the NHS in 2013 led to a more fragmented approach to vaccination. They also warn that those reforms have caused cuts to the number of immunisation coordinators in the health service.
London Assembly Labour lead member for health, Dr Onkar Sahota, said:
“Our city is falling behind when it comes to protecting the health of our children.
“Illnesses such as measles, polio and diphtheria can cause serious problems. The NHS must bring forward their immunisation strategy urgently as London cannot afford this risk to the health of our children.
“Vaccines are safe and reliable ways to keep children safe from disease. I urge parents to check that their children are fully up to date with the immunisations available on the NHS.”
Notes to editors
- Dr Onkar Sahota AM is the London Assembly Labour Group spokesperson on Health and is the London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon.
- Dr Sahota is a practicing NHS GP in West London and maintains GP surgeries in Hanwell and Southall serving roughly 10,000 patients.
- NHS data on vaccination rates can be found here.
- The British Society of Immunology analysis of the impact of the 2013 Health reforms can be found here.
- Information on measles outbreaks is included in Health and Social Care Select Committee Report 'Prevention in health and social care', found here.
- The NHS consulted on the introduction of an immunisation strategy in September 2022 but has not produced any outcomes from this. The closed consultation can be found here.
- Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has previously urged families to take up vaccines offered by the NHS. He is quoted here.