You will have seen in the news that there have been serious outbreaks of measles in over the last month. Outbreaks are now occurring widely in England, with teenagers being those most affected. This is because many of them missed out on their MMR vaccinations in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the vaccine was mistakenly linked to cases of autism.
These outbreaks are a serious concern with up to a million children and young teenagers potentially vulnerable to infection, especially as children of this age are going into secondary school where the spread of infection is much more likely to happen.
Measles is very easily spread and can lead to complications such as ear infections, pneumonia and inflammation of the brain which can lead to serious complications including long term disability or even death.
When Should Children have the MMR Vaccine?
The MMR vaccine is given to babies and young children as part of the NHS vaccination schedule
MMR vaccine schedule
| MMR vaccine schedule | |
| Child’s age | Vaccine |
| 1 year | MMR (1st dose) |
| 3 years and 4 months | MMR (2nd dose) |
Contact Tregenna via the website as soon as possible to make an appointment to get this vaccination done if you or your child haven’t been vaccinated.