Coronavirus: Parents urged to keep childhood vaccines

NHS England says it still offers essential vaccines and calls on parents not to miss their children’s appointments during the pandemic.

The childhood immunization program protects against diseases like whooping cough, measles, and meningitis.

Visits to GP clinics and surgeries are allowed as long as none of the families experiences symptoms of Covid-19.

Public Health Wales said this week that it had seen a small drop in routine vaccination numbers.

Vaccines that are routinely administered in schools, such as the human papilloma virus (HPV) jab offered to older children, are currently on hold but may be available at individual clinics.

“The national immunization program remains in place to protect the health of the nation and no one should doubt the devastating impact of diseases such as measles, meningitis and pneumonia,” said Dr. Mary Ramsay, director of immunizations for Public Health England.

“During this time, it is important to maintain the best vaccine absorption possible to prevent the resurgence of these infections.”

Last month, UNICEF warned of future measles outbreaks worldwide, as a result of delays in vaccination due to the pandemic.

Drive-through clinic

Some surgeries have taken steps to try to make the process as socially distant as possible.

The East London Surgery Project offers a “transit” service twice a week, where families can enter by car or on foot, but do not enter the surgery itself.

It was launched when the amount of routine vaccinations the surgery performed dropped from 12 a week to just three because parents were afraid to enter.

“We cut the 10-minute consultation into three [parts]”GP director Farzana Hussain told BBC reporter Anna Collinson.

“The first part is on the phone. Then the nurse comes out alone to administer the injection, so face-to-face contact is only two minutes and all records are written without the patient there.”

The numbers have now gone up to eight a week, he said.

“Life has to do with risks and benefits. The benefits of vaccinating your children are much greater, it would be a tragedy if we saw measles or diphtheria reappear.”

Before the vaccine was developed, diphtheria killed about 3,500 children each year in the UK, notes the University of Oxford’s Vaccine Knowledge Project.

It is still fatal in one in 10 cases today, but has been largely eradicated in the UK since the vaccine was introduced.