AG百家乐在线官网

This measles outbreak is extremely worrying.

It is a highly contagious disease and potentially very dangerous. In some cases, it is fatal.

But the outbreak is not surprising, as vaccination coverage for under-fives is at its lowest rate for the past 10 years.

The trend had been downwards for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab pre-COVID and the pandemic certainly made things worse in terms of access to vaccination clinics and parental uncertainty about NHS services.

And there is undoubtedly more vaccine hesitancy among parents because of misinformation spread on social media.

But this is unlikely to be the sole reason.

Health leaders will be scrambling to engage communities most at risk.

The recently published NHS England vaccination strategy focuses on "addressing challenges around accessibility and includes proposals to provide flexible and convenient vaccination services".

The report adds: "There are also inequalities in vaccine uptake by ethnicity, deprivation and geography."

This might be key to understanding the problem.

But the target date for full implementation is by 2025/26.

That is too late - as this current outbreak has shown - and vaccination rates that fall below 85% will lead to epidemics.

Read more:
What is measles - and how do you protect against it?
Measles cases are surging across the country - here's why

Even a small decline in uptake below 95% of both doses of the MMR vaccine increases the risk of outbreaks, according to Helen Bedford, professor of children's health, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

Measles outbreaks, thanks to an effective vaccine programme, have become extremely rare.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Parent complacency will also account for the low take-up.

But this outbreak should serve as a worrying reminder of how quickly this potentially devastating disease can spread.