'We should go hard-line on measles and mandate child vaccination'

Dr David Turner argues for tougher vaccine policy following the death of a child with measles

Children becoming seriously ill and dying from a preventable disease is something we usually associate with developing countries – not the UK. Yet recently measles claimed the life of a child in Liverpool, and has caused many others to become seriously unwell.

For healthcare professionals this is not only deeply upsetting but also incredibly frustrating as we have the means to prevent these deaths with vaccination.

Now, we do not know the vaccination status of this child – and regardless this is undoubtedly a tragic situation. But, measles is on the rise in England, and this is due in large part to low rates of vaccination. The dangerous lies spread by anti-vaccine fraudster Andrew Wakefield have unfortunately scorched the minds of a section of the population. So much so, that nearly 30 years on from the publication of his discredited study in The Lancet which incorrectly suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the nonsense he and others like him preach still seems to still carry weight with the vaccine hesitant.

Liverpool has only a 74% take up rate for the MMR vaccine compared to 83% for England as a whole. To achieve herd immunity the WHO recommends 95% vaccine coverage.

We live in a time of social media and distrust of experts. But where has this deep distrust of science come from? It is a disgrace that in a wealthy and advanced country (with free healthcare and universal vaccination available to all!) a minority of misinformed conspiracy theorists should be able to influence the behaviour of such a significant proportion of the population.

Now I am all for freedom of choice – when it is choosing for yourself. But a parent refusing to have a child vaccinated is in my opinion tantamount to child abuse. Why do we allow this? Parents are free to make whatever unwise decisions they wish to about their own health, but they do not have the right to make foolish decisions on behalf of their child. We would not allow a parent to drive a child around in a car without a safety belt, so why do we indulge this ‘right’ to be a vaccine refuser?

Vaccination is different to other health choices people make as it affects others, not just you. You are free to refuse to take your antihypertensives or diabetic meds as that impacts nobody but yourself. But your child not being vaccinated could mean others become ill.

In some European countries, vaccination is a prerequisite for enrolment in the state school system; if that were implemented here, I would absolutely be in support of it. Some may argue that a pocket of hard-line antivaxxer’s would rather not send their child to school than vaccinate them. This may be true, but I would argue that at this stage child protection teams should become involved and immunise the child against their parents’ consent.

Is it a hard-line approach? Well yes maybe. But the state is quite happy to exert control over many other aspects of our lives – such as what age we can drink alcohol, drive a car, smoke and legally have sex. So why are we not taking an equally strict position when it comes to vaccinations?

It’s not just children either. Why is it mandatory to have hepatitis B and BCG vaccination as a prerequisite to working in the NHS; but flu and Covid vaccination are not compulsory for healthcare workers? There is no excuse for a healthcare professional working with vulnerable patients to deliberately put them at risk from respiratory infection because the employee refuses their flu and Covid jabs.

Should we educate the public more about vaccination? Of course we should – but using hard scientific data to demonstrate the overwhelming success and safety of vaccination has about as much influence on the views of recalcitrant anti-vaxxers as the use of a globe does in a debate with a flat-earther. The Government and DHSC have a lot on their plates, but the issue of child vaccination – and indeed adult vaccination – should be higher up on their lists.

And I won’t even start on the grossly unfair fact that GPs get financially penalised for vaccine refusers…

Dr David Turner is a GP in Hertfordshire