UKHSA and NHS England are today asking parents to check their
child's vaccine records and catch up on any missed vaccinations
with their GP practice. The call comes as the new school term
starts and new data shows that whilst most children are fully
vaccinated by the time they start school, many are still left
unvaccinated and vulnerable to catching serious illnesses.
The latest annual uptake data on
childhood vaccines (April 2024-March 2025) published today by
the UK Health Security Agency, shows 18.6% of children, almost 1
in 5, have not received their pre-school booster jab.
The data reports on children who turned 5 between 1 April 2024
and 31 March 2025. In England over the last 10 years, the
coverage or uptake rates for the pre-school booster peaked at
86.3% in 2015 to 2016. The latest data, at 81.4%, is nearly 5%
lower than the peak. Outside of London, the coverage for England
was 85.0%.
The 4-in-1 pre-school booster helps protect against 4 serious
illnesses - polio, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria. Given
from 3 years 4 months of age, the vaccine boosts the protection
provided by previous vaccines given to babies. It ensures
children have the essential protection they need when starting
primary school. Without this booster, children are not fully
protected.
The ‘6-in-1' vaccine is offered to babies aged 18 months. Uptake
measured at 5 years in England has increased by 0.2% to 92.8%.
This increase is encouraging, and healthcare professionals are
urging further progress towards reaching the peak of 95.6% over
the last 10 years (2016 to 2017). A further 2.8% increase is
needed to reach the peak level.
NHS England and regional ICB teams have continued the drive
to encourage parents to vaccinate their children including
hosting extra clinics, catch up opportunities in schools and
localised outreach projects to target low uptake areas across the
country. Early results from today's released data indicates that
the decline in the MMR1 vaccine has stabilised with 91.8%
receiving their first dose by age 5 years.
Childhood vaccination coverage varies significantly
geographically and continues to be lowest for all the uptake
indicators in London.
In England, areas (upper tier local authorities) in the north
consistently perform better than other areas. Pre-school booster
rates for Cumbria (now 2 unitary authorities, Cumberland Council
and Westmoreland and Furness Council) is at 94.3%, Country Durham
and East Riding of Yorkshire - 93.7%, Barnsley - 92.8% and
Northumberland - 92.3%; compared with the overall England
coverage of 81.4%.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Immunisation at UK Health Security
Agency, said:
Ensuring all our children starting primary school are fully
protected is essential to keep them safe and give them the best
opportunity to thrive at school. We know that most parents want
to do what is best for their children and do have confidence and
trust in NHS childhood vaccinations, which save thousands
of lives and prevent tens of thousands of hospital
admissions every year. But it can be hard juggling busy lives and
work, finding time to book and get to the GP appointments.
Far too many children will not be fully protected and safe when
starting school and are at risk of serious diseases, such as
measles and whooping cough, that have in recent years caused
outbreaks. Measles, being the most infectious disease, is the
‘canary in the coalmine' and a wake-up call that urgent action is
needed to stop the very real risk of other diseases re-emerging.
That is why there needs to be a concerted effort in providing
these vitally important vaccines, to make time to speak and
reassure any parents who may have concerns and make it as easy as
possible for their children to get vaccinated.
Parents should check their children are up to date with all their
jabs and, if not, contact their GP practice as soon as possible.
Health Minister said:
Too many children are starting primary school without complete
protection against preventable and potentially serious illnesses
like measles, whooping cough and mumps.
We know parents want to do right by their children and we're
working with the NHS to make it easier for all families to access
these life-saving vaccines.
Vaccines save thousands of lives every year and prevent countless
hospital admissions. I urge all parents to check their child's
vaccination record and contact their GP practice if any jabs are
missing.
Latest data on Vaccine-preventable diseases
is available on the UKHSA Dashboard.
More information on vaccinations is available at nhs.uk/vaccinations.
