Almost one million adults aged 19 to 25 in England will be invited to book a missed MMR vaccination appointment with their GP practice this week.
This part of the NHS catch-up campaign will be targeted in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and London, where young adults are ‘more at risk’ from measles.
Some areas of the country have seen measles outbreaks over recent months, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declaring a ‘national incident’ in January.
Latest UKHSA data showed that there have been 733 measles cases between October 2023 and 7 March.
Last week, NHS England reminded 200,000 16 to 19-year-olds to get their MMR jab, and before that, over a million parents and carers of 6 to 11-year-olds were invited to book a vaccine appointment at their GP practice.
Now, more than 900,000 young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 are being invited to book an MMR vaccination appointment with their GP or at a local pop-up clinic if possible.
In November last year, GPs in England were asked to participate in a catch-up campaign for MMR vaccinations after public health officials warned of rising cases of measles.
And at the end of February, UKHSA launched a new campaign to drive up childhood vaccinations as uptake levels for the routine NHS vaccination programme ‘have been falling over the past decade across all vaccines’.
NHS England director of vaccination and screening Steve Russell said that with measles cases ‘on the rise’ it is ‘not worth the risk of going without this vital protection’.
‘Measles, mumps and rubella are preventable, but catching them is easy when people are unvaccinated, so I urge people to come forward and get the MMR vaccine sooner, rather than later,’ he added.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, consultant medical epidemiologist for immunisation at UKHSA, warned that anyone who is not vaccinated against measles can catch it.
He said: ‘Being unvaccinated also means you risk spreading the disease to others, including those at greatest risk of becoming seriously ill – like infants, who aren’t able to receive their MMR vaccine until their first birthday, pregnant women and those with a weakened immune system.’
Last month, the BMA’s GP Committee called for a measles vaccination enhanced service to cover currently ‘unresourced’ work associated with the measles outbreak.
NHS England’s measles guidance for healthcare workers said GPs and practice staff should wear PPE when dealing with suspected measles to stop transmission.
