More parents shun MMR

The number of parents having their children immunised with the controversial MMR vaccine has fallen.

New figures show there has been a dip in the uptake rate of the immunisation against measles, mumps and rubella, bucking what experts thought had been a trend of rising public confidence in the triple jab.

In some areas of London fewer than half of children were immunised. Kensington and Chelsea recorded an uptake of only 49 per cent. Public health bosses had thought parents were returning to the injection after damaging research that it was linked to bowel disorders and autism was discredited.

But figures from the Department of Health show the numbers of children having the MMR vaccine by their second birthday dropped by two per cent to 80 per cent.

It is far below the 95 per cent required for "herd immunity" - the level needed for the population to be safe from an outbreak.

The average for London was 70 per cent. Hammersmith, Lewisham and Lambeth both recorded 58 per cent, and Greenwich and Southwark reached 63 per cent. However, some boroughs beat the national average of 80 per cent, including Waltham Forest (85) and Kingston (81).

The figures were no better for children who were immunised by their fifth birthday, showing parents are still shunning the injection.

Conflicting figures were released by the Health Protection Agency, which showed a statistical "blip" in an overall trend of rising uptake rates of MMR. Its datum shows that although there was a 0.4 per cent drop in the last quarter, to 81.5 per cent uptake at the age of two, the overall trend shows a steady rise since last year , when it was 78.9 per cent.

Jackie Fletcher, founder of JABS, a support group for "vaccine-damaged" children, said infants were being put at risk because the Department of Health would not allow single vaccines on the NHS. She said: "If the department is concerned there is going to be an outbreak of measles it has a duty of care to make single vaccines available."