The Guardian today has:
UK measles outbreaks: why are cases rising and vaccination rates falling?
BBC London has:
Mum urges vaccine push and shares how son died after catching measles
The UK Mail has:
UK GRIPPED BY MEASLES CRISIS
The Mail in Scotland has only WhatsApp cover-ups and BBC Scotland focus on the same plus catching up on Michelle Mone.
What is the actual situation in Scotland with regard to measles vaccination rates compared to rUK figures? Well it’s pretty newsworthy you’d think.
Typically in the West Midlands, they’d see no cases but in the last month they’ve had 50! Globally infections, according to the WHO had gone up from less than 1 000 to 30 000.
Measles is deadly.
This was covered here last November:
In Scotland, there were no cases of measles reported in the first quarter of 2023. In 2022, there was one case of measles reported which was imported from outwith the UK and was the first case reported in Scotland since 2019.
In Scotland, 93.9% of children had the first dose of MMR vaccine by 24 months of age. This rose to 95.9% for children who had reached age 5.
In England this year every region has reported an infection which does coincide with a record low uptake of the MMR jab The vaccination rate is way below the WHO recommendation and that could see a measles outbreak which could lead to serious complications (including death) especially among the young.
In Leicester only 79.2% have been vaccinated, on a par with Pakistan and Namibia. The average for England is 84.5%, well below the WHO recommended figure of 95%
Globally 136 000 died from measles in 2022.
Around 12 000 vehicles cross into Scotland every day from England.
Now some will disapprove of this comparison but imagine the coverage were it the other way round and after 16 years, the SNP had failed in this way.
Sources:
https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/thousands-cross-scots-border-daily-18399280
Yes, yes, but drug deaths on ferries!
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Hi John,
You might want to comment on this article
https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2024/january/who-report-estimates-22-138-lives-in-scotland-saved-by-covid-19-vaccination-programme/
“WHO report estimates 22,138 lives in Scotland saved by COVID-19 vaccination programme”
(First published on 17 January 2024)
“The WHO report ranks Scotland’s COVID-19 vaccination programme as joint fourth in terms of its success. This could not have happened without the incredible efforts of staff and volunteers across the country and, of course, everyone who took up their offer of a vaccine.
“Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still in circulation – we know the degree of protection from the vaccines offered wanes over time which is why booster vaccination is needed to maintain the best protection against COVID-19 for those at highest risk of severe effects of the virus. So we encourage all those eligible for a winter booster, to take up the offer before the programme ends on 31 March 2024.”
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ah, but …. if somebody at a dinner party with John Beattie says she’s heard from a neighbour that a family next door to her sisters had a son who was in the same class as someone whose cousin had measles, will we have:
“Is Scotland threatened with plague of measles!?”
Alasdair Macdonald
LikeLiked by 3 people
#Shush for the union
LikeLiked by 2 people
The English edition of the Daily Mail headline today “UK gripped by measles crisis”
Yet the content only refers to the West Midlands and London.
Also sourced from online this information that links to the Daily Mail article…..
“According to the UKHSA, between January and November 2023, there were 209 lab-confirmed cases of measles in England, nearly half of which were in London. The agency said cases were on the rise after outbreaks in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber”
Yet again a case of Scotland being dragged into a negative story that currently is only pertinent to England and not the UK as a whole….however had this “measles crisis” been only within Scotland then my guess, based on past media behaviour, would be that the headline would be “Scotland (and not the whole UK) gripped by measles crisis” as that is the preferred formula adopted by the media……but really it is as a current headline very misleading of the Daily Mail…..yet so very typical of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The absence of news coverage of measles from a Scotland perspective in the relevant section of the BBC News website is worthy of note. After all, BBC Scotland supposedly provides a public service and arguably, issues of public health relevant to children merit greater attention. BBC Scotland COULD communicate the significance of Scotland’s relatively high rate of MMR vaccine take-up and provide evidence – for context and perspective – which would encourage even higher levels.
It’s not as if BBC Scotland has always been ‘disinterested’! From its News website dated 25 June 2019 we find this headline: ‘MMR vaccination rates in slight fall among children in Scotland’.
Notwithstanding the factual nature of the headline with its negative framing, when one reads on we discover the big reveal what prompted BBC Scotland to publish an article on THAT occasion:
‘The number of children in Scotland receiving the MMR vaccine by five years of age has fallen slightly but remains “very high”, official NHS figures show. By the end of March, THE THREE-MONTH FIGURE WAS 96.6% – DOWN FROM 97%.’ (my emphasis)
And: ‘Uptake rates of one dose of MMR by the age of five have remained above the government’s 95% target since 2009.’
Note that last line.
In the Herald today we find this headline: ‘Measles, MMR, vaccine hesitancy: How at risk is Scotland?’ written by Helen McArdle. I am no longer willing to pay to read this newspaper which once was my daily news source of choice so I can’t comment on the full content of the piece. But online I was able to read the following photo caption:
‘The West Midlands region of England is in the grip of its worst measles outbreak since the 1990s, while uptake of the MMR vaccine in Scotland is at it lowest level SINCE RECORDS BEGAN in 2014.’
But, but ….. the BBC is telling me of ‘records’ that go back to at least 2009! And what about the time series data on MMR vaccine uptake for the all parts of the UK going back to 2009-10 that are published by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) here?
Click ‘country coverage’ at https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZTI3NWZhNzItMTIyZS00OWM2LTg0MzMtOGY5YTJjMGY0MjI1IiwidCI6IjUwZjYwNzFmLWJiZmUtNDAxYS04ODAzLTY3Mzc0OGU2MjllMiIsImMiOjh9
Surely the Herald would not cherry pick dates? And I wonder if the Herald reports this from the same UKHSA source? Based on the data for 2022-23:
– MMR1 take-up at 24 months: Scotland = 93.4%; England = 89.3%
– MMR 1 at 5 years: Scotland = 95.2%; England = 92.5%
– MMR 1 & 2 at 5 years : Scotland = 90.2%; England = 84.5%
I also wonder if – for further insights into ‘the risk’ to Scotland’s children – the Herald shared this information which been reported in the health section of the BBC News website today: ‘Get measles vaccine to avoid rapid spread, says UK health boss’
The BBC reports: ‘In some areas of London, like Hackney, nearly half of children have not been fully vaccinated against it.’
And: ‘NHS figures show uptake of both MMR doses by the age of five was considered very low in some areas in 2022-23:
74% in London
83.7% in West Midlands
85.1% in the North West
‘WHO recommends two-dose vaccination coverage of at least 95% of the population because measles is highly infectious and spreads easily. But in cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham only 75% of five-year-olds are in that position.’
So take-up in Scotland is very much higher but there is no room for complacency and yes, still room for improvement here too!
Crucially, there are clear signs that public health authorities in Scotland have been alert and active on this emerging risk for some time. A formal, lengthy circular was sent to health professionals in Scotland from the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer on 16 August 2023
‘AVERTING THE RESURGENCE OF MEASLES IN SCOTLAND 2023: This letter is to bring to your attention a range of actions being implemented to avert the resurgence of measles in Scotland. You are asked to note and implement the actions set out below where applicable to you and your teams.’
LikeLiked by 2 people
Let me share some other positive insights on MMR immunisation, this time from a recent peer reviewed research paper:
Source: McQuaid F, Mulholland R, Sangpang Rai Y, Agrawal U, Bedford H, Cameron JC, et al. (2022) Uptake of infant and preschool immunisations in Scotland and England during the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study of routinely collected data. PLoS Med 19(2): e1003916. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003916
‘We found that early uptake of infant and preschool immunisations (within 4 weeks of a child becoming eligible) ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY FOR THE DURATION OF THE FIRST LOCKDOWN PERIOD IN SCOTLAND, RESULTING IN THOUSANDS MORE CHILDREN RECEIVING THEIR IMMUNISATIONS AT THE SCHEDULED TIME.
‘Encouragingly, POSITIVE RESULTS WERE SEEN ACROSS ALL LEVELS OF DEPRIVATION, though some geographical variations were observed across Scotland. IMPROVEMENT WAS ALSO SEEN IN LONGER TERM UPTAKE OF THE FIRST AND SECOND MMR IMMUNISATIONS (immunisation within 4 months of becoming eligible) in the lockdown period. Findings in England differed, with a small fall in longer-term uptake of immunisations observed for the lockdown period.’ (my emphasis)
The paper then provides insights into how/why these positive outcomes in Scotland were achieved:
‘Jarchow-MacDonald and colleagues [24] from NHS Lothian (which consists of HSCPs Edinburgh, West Lothian, East Lothian, and Midlothian) have suggested that ENSURING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF IMMUNISATION CENTRES, EITHER BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR BY PROVIDING MOBILE SERVICES TO SHIELDING FAMILIES, was important in maintaining uptake during the pandemic, as was DIRECTLY COMMUNICATING WITH FAMILIES WITH A PREAPPOINTMENT PHONE CALL and REMINDER POSTCARDS. This GAVE FAMILIES AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THE IMMUNISATION WITH A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL, a strategy that has been showed to be important in addressing parental concerns [25]. In fact, THE REMINDER ALONE MAY HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENT TO ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO ATTEND THE FIRST APPOINTMENT [26].
‘THE CLEAR COMMITMENT OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN THE IMMUNISATION PROGRAMME WAS ALSO FELT TO BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR [24].’
‘In this study, we observed that the national lockdown in Scotland was associated with an increase in timely childhood immunisation uptake; however, in England, uptake fell slightly. REASONS FOR THE IMPROVED UPTAKE IN SCOTLAND MAY INCLUDE ACTIVE MEASURES TAKEN TO PROMOTE IMMUNISATION AT LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS DURING THIS PERIOD AND SHOULD BE EXPLORED FURTHER.’
The BBC Radio 4 Today programme (20 January) had a lengthy interview with one health professional and one health research professor, both based in England. The discussion repeatedly referred to (in terms) ‘national’, ‘country-wide’ and discussed actions required to increase uptake of the MMR vaccination as it had reached dangerously low levels. One of the interviewees complained about a major reduction in the number of health visitors. One of the interviewees encouraged listeners to use the ‘NHS App’ to contact their GP about a making vaccination appointment for their child.
No explanation from anyone involved as to the scope of the discussion – UK-wide or just England. No acknowledgement of substantial differences in MMR take-up rates across the UK – (and of course) no acknowledgement that useful lessons might be gained by examining what’s been done in NI, Scotland or Wales. (Did these experts know about the research paper referenced above?)
And there was no attempt to inform listeners – in a broadcast to a UK-wide audience – that the recommended ‘NHS App’ is an England-only facility: to use it you need ‘to be registered with a GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man’ (according to UK Government information).
LikeLiked by 3 people
Children can die from measles. Or develop other aliments if not vaccinated. Did vaccination programmes stop during Covid lockdown? Children were isolating although at less risk.
LikeLiked by 1 person