Vaccination saves lives

Vaccination has been one of the most successful measures to prevent premature death in the history of medicine. That's not just my opinion, it is that of the NHS and most doctors.

It is a tragedy to see that Measles cases are increasing in the UK.

This is the wholly avoidable return of a very unpleasant disease which kills children, and it is happening mainly because of a drop in vaccination levels which in turn has been caused mainly by misleading nonsense spread by supporters of the anti-vaccination delusion (and by Russian bots.)

There are some people who for genuine medical reasons should not have particular vaccinations at particular times, If in doubt you should always consult your GP. But for the vast majority of people the benefits of vaccination massively outweigh the trivial risks involved.

That's why the Prime Minister has ordered urgent action to improve the number of children and young people receiving life-saving vaccinations, halting the spread of infectious diseases.

  • There has been a small decline in the uptake of the measles vaccine in recent years, meaning the UK has lost its ‘measles free’ status with the World Health Organisation, three years after we eliminated the virus.
  • The Prime Minister has called for health leaders to renew their efforts to improve uptake and has tasked the Department for Health and Social Care to deliver a comprehensive strategy to address the issue in the Autumn.
  • The government is also calling on social media companies to take decisive action to tackle misleading information online and the Prime Minister has called a summit of social media companies, to ensure they take the necessary steps to remove antivax misinformation.


 Why this matters:

As part of the plan to boost frontline NHS services, the government is working with primary and community care providers to halt the spread of infectious treatable diseases in modern-day Britain.

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