Baroness Manzoor
Main Page: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Manzoor's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Diphtheria
Baroness Manzoor Excerpts(1 year ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Markham (Con)
All I can say is that the Department of Health co-operates very closely with the Home Office. We have a screening programme for all migrants coming in, as I mentioned, and an 88% vaccination rate for diphtheria among them, compared with 93% of UK children. It is a very high rate indeed; that record speaks for itself.
Baroness Manzoor (Con)
My Lords, as the Question implies, the UK has an excellent record on uptake of vaccinations, but my noble friend will know that the level has fallen among children for the MMR vaccine. What action are the Government taking to ensure that the most vulnerable are given this vaccination and that rates go back up to pre-Covid levels?
Lord Markham (Con)
We are all aware of the rumours and allegations about the safety of the MMR vaccine, which we are all delighted to know were totally unfounded. As my noble friend says, it has been quite a task to regain confidence in it, but we are doing so and vaccination rates have gone up. I will provide her with the exact details of those new take-up rates.