Measles death shows nation must ‘redouble' vaccine efforts, Streeting says
The Health Secretary stressed that vaccines 'save lives' and said the Government will be carrying out work throughout the remainder of the year to boost uptake.
It follows reports over the weekend that a youngster, who was ill with measles and other health problems and was receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, had died.
The Health Secretary appeared in front of MPs on Monday as the Health and Social Care Committee scrutinised the Government's 10-year health plan.
When asked by Labour MP Danny Beales if the Government is doing enough to increase child vaccination rates, Mr Streeting said: 'Firstly, no child in this country should be dying of measles.
'And I'm extremely sorry to the poor family that's now grieving the loss of a child in those circumstances.
'This is why we have got to redouble our efforts on vaccination, and to make the case – and some of the improvements in the 10-year plan will help, in terms of having digital records of children's health that parents can check into the digital red book – that'll be really good.
'So it means on moments like, over the weekend, where someone's read an awful case in the media, parents can just quickly log on and think actually, did we get that jab?
'Are we up to date on our vaccinations? And we can also proactively invite people to vaccination.
'But we'll be doing a lot more on this throughout the remainder of the year in terms of trying to get vaccination uptakes, it saves lives.'
Mr Beales highlighted that additional investment will be needed to increase vaccine uptake 'to get those areas that are 30% below the highest levels of vaccination in the country up to where they should be'.
Mr Streeting replied: 'And we do have significant resource already attached to public health information campaigns.'
He vowed to write to the committee 'given the profile of this at the moment to share the work that we'll be doing to drive our vaccination rates'.
Measles is highly infectious and can lead to serious complications.
People with this infection have a number of cold and flu-like symptoms and a rash appears a few days after symptoms start.
On rare occasions, measles can also lead to meningitis and brain swelling, which can cause long-term disabilities or even death.
A statement published by Alder Hey on Sunday said it would not comment on individual cases, but that the hospital is 'concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles'.
Alder Hey said it has treated 17 children since June for the effects and complications of the disease.
Since January 1 2025, there have been 529 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, according to UKHSA data which was released on July 3.
NHS England figures covering 2023/24 show that not a single vaccine met the target needed to ensure diseases cannot spread among youngsters.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says to achieve herd immunity – which stops illnesses transmitting across the population – at least 95% of children should receive their set of vaccine doses for each illness.
Figures shows 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, the lowest level since 2010/11, while just 83.9% had received both doses, the lowest since 2009/10.
Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9% in 2023/24 – again, the lowest since 2009/10.
In Liverpool, 73.4% of children received both doses of their MMR vaccine by their fifth birthday.
Reacting to reports over the weekend, Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, assistant professor of global health and development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said: 'The child death in Liverpool is a tragic reminder that measles is not benign and can lead to serious complications including inflammation of the brain and death.
'Since 2023-25 we have been in a cycle of nasty measles outbreaks, indicating that the years of declining coverage are culminating in a new normal that no child needs to live with.
'Liverpool is home to neighbourhoods that are among the most deprived in England.
'Declining coverage in Liverpool and nationwide is happening amidst a relentless cost-of-living crisis, characterised by a generational decline in living standards, continued austerity and unequal pandemic recovery.
'Public health cannot hope for vaccination coverage to improve, it needs sustained resources to offer flexible services that work with parents as they are pushed to the brink by precarity and to fund the communications required to engage with diverse communities.'
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