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MMR vaccination: friend or foe?

To protect against widespread outbreaks of measles, around 95 per cent of the population need to be vaccinated with MMR

Latest figures show the number of babies being vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella has fallen to around 85 per cent in England and Wales, and 91 per cent in Scotland and Ireland.

Fear over immunisation is not new; it dates back as far as the very first vaccine. When immunity against the feared Smallpox was achieved using cowpox, thousands of people were vaccinated for protection - and yet an anti-vaccination lobby was soon formed. When was all of this? Not long after 1796.

Unfortunately, ill-founded rumours and media scare stories can seriously undermine the nation's immunisation programme. Today's parents are much better informed, and ask more searching questions about the effectiveness and the necessity of many medical treatments.

Their information comes not only from health professionals, but also from family, friends and newspapers.

This information from family and friends may be correct but can be out of date. Advice from doctors, nurses and health visitors should be consistent, accurate and backed up by good scientific evidence.

As a General Practitioner (now retired) with 35 years' experience of family medicine, a parent of seven children and a grandfather to six children, I think that I can say that I do know what it feels like to be in a situation of 'confused uncertainty'.

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