Why we should all have MMR vaccine

There are 500 million measles cases across the world and MMR is a vaccine that is very successful.

I think parents should look into all the options. But the main piece of research that was undertaken suggesting dangers was discredited.

I’m all for people doing their own research.

When you come forward with any scientific treatment you have a duty to make sure it is safe and the side effects are documented.

The downside is that people with no knowledge or other agendas latch on to that.

Because MMR is a live vaccine it does have the potential to have side effects.

It has the potential to create a slight fever or to make you feel a bit unwell, or cause a slight swelling in the cheeks or a rash when it comes into effect.

We have to warn people about that. Children can feel unwell a couple of weeks after having their jab, but that’s a sign of the vaccine working.

But it is about one in 1,000 who have side effects and about one in 200 who get measles if not vaccinated. And there are some very nasty complications to measles.

One in 15 children with measles has very serious consequences. The balance of risk is quite different.

Of the 65 confirmed cases in the county during the outbreak two years ago, 14 ended up in hospital with quite serious consequences. But I have never heard of anyone ending up in hospital because of the vaccine.

People underestimate the seriousness of measles.

I can understand they don’t want to put their child through the risk. I think people think they had measles and there’s nothing wrong with them.

But across the world millions of people die each year from measles.

Even in this county there have been deaths.

When we get an outbreak like this in Brighton and Hove people panic. They come rushing for the vaccine, which is understandable, but it’s not the ideal way we would want to deliver a vaccination programme.

The problem with the individual vaccinations is they are very hard to get hold of and typically you have to go abroad for them.

The mumps single vaccine is not a very good vaccine as it’s made from a different strain of the disease.

We had one doctor in Brighton who was giving it out and we had to stop him because the doses had travelled and had not been stored properly.

Part of the problem is storage – you have to keep vaccines at the right temperature. Part of the problem is vaccines coming from unknown sources that can’t be verified.

Apart from that, with individual vaccines you have to have six injections, not two.

There is much more chance of missing one out and not being properly protected.

We have practically eradicated polio and smallpox through vaccinations, and we could practically eradicate measles.

But it is a very infectious disease and can spread quickly.

We currently have about 85% of the city’s population vaccinated with one injection and 75% for the recommended two injections, which is well below what we would like.

But it was only 67% a few years ago. Luckily people do seem to be coming back to it because of the research that suggested it could be harmful being widely discredited.

Vaccination take-up in Brighton and Hove is much lower than across the country. People here are more critical and more into alternative ways of dealing with things.

But people have a misconception that you won’t get measles if you look after their child and feed them and love them and care for them. But measles doesn’t discriminate.

If you are not vaccinated you have a very good chance of getting measles.

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