What Will Happen If Your Child Misses Routine Immunisations?

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted childhood immunisation programmes in many countries around the world. Know the dangers of missing routine childhood immunisations.

Parents, ensure that your children do not miss their routine childhood immunisations such as polio and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations. Missing these routine vaccines can pose serious health risks to them.

Routine childhood immunisations are recommended to prevent the spread of serious and sometimes deadly diseases like measles and polio. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, childhood immunisation programmes were disrupted in many countries around the world. In the UK, vaccination rates have dropped over the last three years since the pandemic began, compared to earlier years.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported a drop in vaccination coverage for 13 out of the 14 routine vaccination programmes in the country.

Coverage for the first dose of the mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine (administered to children at 24 months) decreased to 89.2 per cent in 2021-2022 period from 90.3 per cent in the previous year. Coverage for the second dose of MMR (administered to children by age 5 years) also dropped by nearly 1 per cent.

There was also decrease in the vaccination coverage for the 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 vaccine. This vaccine protects children against a set of different diseases including diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, polio, Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) and hepatitis B. Three doses of the 6-in-1 vaccine are given to babies as an injection when they are 8, 12 and 16 weeks old.

The dangers of missing routine childhood immunisations

The UKHSA has urged parents and guardians to make sure that their children are up to date with all their routine childhood immunisations while warning about the dangers of missing the vaccines.

It said that even a slight decline in MMR vaccine coverage can lead to a rise in measles cases, as the disease is highly contagious. As international travel has resumed, measles may be brought in from countries where the disease prevalence is high, the agency noted.

"Measles can lead to complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain which require hospitalisation and on rare occasions can lead to long term disability or death," the UKHSA stated.

It is very important that children get the recommended polio vaccine doses to prevent the risk of paralysis.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, Consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, asserted, "Childhood vaccines also boost population immunity levels, helping prevent outbreaks, so by taking up all vaccinations for our children, we play our part in keeping these diseases confined to the past."

I miss my child's vaccination appointment. What should I do?

It's best if the babies get the vaccines at the recommended age to protect them from serious health conditions earlier in life. But it's better late than never. If you have missed your baby's vaccination appointment, contact your local child health care centre as soon as possible for another appointment.

The governments also run vaccination catch-up campaigns to ensure that no child misses the routine immunisations. Parents should take up this opportunity to help protect their children from serious diseases.

Check your child's health record book regularly to ensure that the baby is up to date with all the recommended routine vaccinations.