London’s 31 Primary Care Trusts (PCT) will each receive an extra £60,000 to raise the uptake of the MMR vaccination, it was announced this week.
According to NHS London the capital has a low uptake of the vaccination and has seen a number of measles outbreaks over the past year.
Dr Simon Tanner, NHS London’s Regional Director for Public Health said many people consider the disease “to be a relatively minor childhood illness, but it can have serious complications.”
“London’s PCTs will be working together to improve the uptake of the MMR vaccine across the capital. Measles represents the single biggest avoidable infectious disease risk in London today. London has always had a low uptake of MMR, I hope this extra funding and campaign to follow will raise awareness amongst parents of the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”
Vaccination rates in London vary considerably with rates varying between 55% and 90%.
