MMR jab take-up rates up to 85%

Around 85% of eligible children in the region have had the vaccine compared to 81% nationwide - 95% is the target.

But more than a third of parents are not convinced that there is no link between the jab and autism, according to a team from Durham University.

More than a third of parents also distrust government health advice.

"The high level of concern about the safety of the vaccine expressed even by parents is worrying in its implications for public confidence and trust in health care"
Dr Rachel Casiday

Around 1,000 parents took part in the postal survey into attitudes to the controversial vaccine led by Dr Rachel Casiday, of Durham University's Anthropology Department.

Take-up rates of the jab dropped throughout the UK, down to less than 70% in some areas, after a 1998 study of 12 children, linked it to autism.

Rates are now rising again with 85% of children having the jab in the Durham and Tees Valley area and 86% in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.

Confidence crisis

Dr Casiday found that the public's confidence in the jab has been shaken with 20% of parents believing the government would not withdraw the vaccine even if it was found to be harmful.

The reasons given for their mistrust included the government's handling of BSE outbreaks and the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.

"It is still below target levels needed for immunity"
Dr Rachel Casiday

The study found that around 7% of parents had opted for single vaccines - which meant 72 children received each jab individually.

But it also revealed only 19 of those children had had all three separate injections, often due to a shortage of the mumps vaccination.

More than 50% of parents whose children had had the MMR combination jab said they were not convinced about the safety of separate injections, the study also found.

The report concluded that: "The uptake of the MMR vaccine has not dropped as much as many feared in response to controversy, but it is still below target levels needed for immunity.

"Furthermore, the high level of concern about the safety of the vaccine expressed even by parents who had immunised their children is worrying in its implications for public confidence and trust in health care."

The study has been published in the Vaccine medical journal.

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
MMR The Facts (NHS)
Health Protection Agency
Durham University
Durham and Chester le Street Primary Care Trust
MMR Vaccine Debate
Vaccine
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