Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of measles vaccination.

The Department is working alongside its partners to increase vaccine uptake and coverage across all childhood vaccination programmes, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) programme.

The National Health Service and general practices (GPs) have been sending reminders to the families of children who are not fully vaccinated, with GPs providing catch-up doses for any missed vaccinations.

NHS England works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and local health partners and communities to understand the needs of their populations, and to tailor immunisation programmes to meet the needs of under-vaccinated communities.

Regional outbreaks of measles and overall increases in cases since autumn 2023 led to a renewed focus on MMR coverage and targeted catch-up activity, including an NHS campaign which ran from November 2023 until April 2024 and resulted in over 180,000 additional doses given. The UKHSA and NHS England ran a second wave of England-wide childhood immunisation campaigns targeted towards parents and carers of children in autumn 2024. The campaign reminded parents of the risks to their children due to missing out on protection against the serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country, with an urgent call to action to catch up on missed vaccinations.

It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to, for themselves, their families, and wider society. The MMR vaccine is highly effective, safe, and is the best way to prevent measles.