Action will be unveiled this week to protect children from potentially deadly viruses as the NHS battles a measles outbreak in London. The UK has lost its World Health Organisation (WHO) measles elimination status, with more than 2,900 cases of measles confirmed in England in 2024 – the highest level recorded in decades.
There is alarm at the measles outbreak in Enfield in north London and there are also cases in nearby Haringey. The Government admits childhood vaccination rates are “well below the 95% WHO uptake target needed to prevent measles outbreaks – and are falling”. Changes to the GP contract will be unveiled this week in an effort to “save young lives and shield families from preventable illness”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Vaccinations are safe and they save lives. The return of diseases we thought we’d defeated, with children in hospital as a result, is entirely preventable. With our investment and modernisation in general practice, GPs will be backed to protect children and prevent the risk of further outbreaks like we’ve seen Enfield. Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life.”
At present, only GP practices hitting high vaccination rate targets earn additional incentive payments. There is concern practices in communities with lower vaccination rates are in greatest need of assistance but miss out payments, even if the make “massive strides”.
The new contract will provide extra resources to practices which are “making progress” which can be invested in efforts to get more children vaccinated.
At present, the Government warns, “some babies at far greater risk than others simply because of where they live”.
The NHS’s vaccination programme was expanded on January 1 to include chickenpox for the first time. GP practices now offer children a combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months so they will be protected against chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella.
Under the changes to the contract, primary care networks will be required to identify care home residents who have not had routine vaccinations.
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