New report indicates 7.5% of Bradford babies aren't receiving important early-life vaccines

Wednesday, 8 January 2020 10:40

A new report has revealed that Babies in Bradford could be at risk of catching potentially deadly illnesses as uptake rates for important jabs fell below safe levels.

The British Society for Immunology has urged the new government to deliver on its promise to develop the UK’s first vaccine strategy in an attempt to protect families from dangerous diseases.

Parents are being encouraged to get their young children the so-called six-in-one jab, which protects against six serious infections including polio, tetanus and whooping cough in the first few months of their lives.

However, new figures have revealed that 7.5% of children in Bradford who had their first birthday between February and September last year had been vaccinated.

Altogether 269 children went unvaccinated, meaning the district fell short of the recommended 95% rate recommended by the World Health Organisation to prevent outbreaks of potentially fatal diseases.

Speaking on the falling number of children being vaccinated, British Society for Immunology chief executive Dr Doug Brown said: “Low levels of vaccination coverage matter as it means these diseases have the potential to spread within our communities, infecting unvaccinated people, with young babies and people with compromised immune systems particularly at risk.

“We urge the new government to deliver on its promise to develop the UK’s first vaccine strategy and to fully fund immunisation services to ensure our communities are protected against these preventable diseases.”

It is recommended that babies should have three rounds of the six-in-one vaccination at eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age.

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