Solihull Health and Wellbeing Board partners have unanimously agreed to support a call encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).

Children’s vaccine uptake has been slowly decreasing across England since 2012-13, meaning that children have missed out and may remain vulnerable to serious or even fatal infections.

In Solihull, almost 5,500 children aged 1-18 have either had no MMR vaccine or been under-vaccinated because they have only had one of the two recommended doses.

The free MMR vaccine is a safe and effective way of protecting against measles, as well as mumps and rubella.

The first MMR vaccine is given when the child is 1 year old, with a pre-school booster at 3 years 4 months of age. Both doses are required to achieve maximum protection. If children and young adults have missed these vaccinations, it’s not too late.

Parents should check their child’s red book to see if they’ve received MMR vaccinations as scheduled, or speak to their GP surgery if they are unsure.

Young people aged 15-25 are also being encouraged to check that they are covered as they attend their first festivals, travel to countries with ongoing measles outbreaks or start university.

Please share this information with parents, staff, and students (as appropriate) at your school or college. You can also read the full press release here.