Measles outbreak: What are the risks of MMR and when can you get vaccinated?

Since the MMR vaccine campaign earlier in the year, thirteen percent of under fives who were previously unvaccinated have now had the jab.

Transcript

00:00A lot of people have questions regarding the MMR vaccine which protects against measles,

00:06mumps and rubella. These are serious viral illnesses that can have life-altering consequences

00:13such as hearing loss and meningitis, which is why most people vaccinate against them.

00:19If someone were to have their first dose of the measles vaccine today, within two weeks they will

00:23have roughly 92% immunity. If they go on to have the second vaccine, they will have roughly 98%

00:30immunity, which will be lifelong. The MMR vaccination is offered through your GP practice

00:36and is given to your child twice. The first shortly after their first birthday and the second

00:41aged three years and four months. Two doses of the vaccine protect 99% of the population against

00:49measles and rubella and 88% of the population against mumps. The places in the UK that saw the

00:55biggest outbreaks of measles earlier in the year were also the places with the lowest vaccine

01:00uptake. For some London boroughs uptake for the first dose of the MMR jab was as low as 65%.

01:08That number might not seem dramatic but in reality it means a lot of people are unprotected

01:14and at risk. In fact our modelling suggests that an outbreak of between 40,000 to 160,000 cases

01:23could occur in London. Catching up and vaccinating our children when they are due

01:29can help prevent outbreaks. Most people are vaccinated well before they turn four but it's

01:35never too late to catch up if you've missed out on one or more doses of the MMR jab. It's never

01:41too late to catch up and that goes for adults too so if you or your family have missed one or two

01:47doses contact your GP as soon as possible. If you're due to travel overseas soon it's also

01:54important to have the vaccine as we're seeing measles outbreaks in many countries around the world.