The Cambridgeshire city where 1 in 4 children has not had MMR vaccine

Just 76.6 of children in Peterborough have had both jabs by their 5th birthday
-Credit: (Image: PA)


Almost one in four children in one Cambridgeshire have not had their MMR jabs - according to new NHS England figures. Just 76.6 per cent of eligible children in Peterborough received both doses of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine before the age of five in 2023/24.

The figure is slightly up on the 75.7 per cent of children in the city who received it in 2022/23. However the percentage remains lower in surrounding areas.

In Norfolk, 90.3 per cent of eligible children had received both doses of the MMR vaccine by the age of five. A total 83.8 per cent of children in the Lincolnshire local authority area had also received their jabs along with 86.7 per cent in North Northamptonshire.

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In the Cambridgeshire County Council area, which includes all of Cambridgeshire except Peterborough, the figure was 89.2 per cent - slightly down on the 89.3 per cent from the previous year.

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 per cent of children should receive their set of vaccine doses for each illness.

The new data shows 91.9 per cent of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) vaccine, the lowest level since 2010/11, while just 83.9 per cent had received both doses, the lowest since 2009/10. Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9 per cent in 2023/24 – again, the lowest since 2009/10.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is urging parents to check their children’s vaccinations are up to date amid fears of a back-to-school surge of diseases like measles and whooping cough due to falling vaccine rates. The NHS says vaccines prevent more than 5,000 deaths and 100,000 hospital admissions each year in England.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said: “As a mum and doctor, I know the additional stress that comes with having a sick child. I encourage all parents to take up the offer of vaccinations for their children at the right time, to give them the best protection from preventable diseases. Childhood vaccines prevent babies and children from suffering needlessly and can even be life-saving.”

Dr Saliba said she was pleased that parents whose children have missed vaccines are coming forward in the light of campaigns, but she added: “We are a long way from ensuring all are protected and safe.”

Steve Russell, NHS national director for vaccinations and screening, said: “Too many children are still not fully vaccinated against diseases like measles and whooping cough, which can cause serious illness and are preventable.

“Vaccinations have been protecting children for decades and are offered free as part of the NHS routine immunisation programme, saving thousands of lives and preventing tens of thousands of hospital admissions every year.

“We would advise parents to urgently check their child’s vaccination records and ensure they’re protected from becoming seriously unwell.”

English local authorities by proportion of children who received both doses of the MMR vaccine in 2023/24:

The list is ordered by the percentage of children who received both doses, starting with the highest, and reads from left to right: name of local authority; proportion of five-year-olds vaccinated in 2023/24; proportion of five-year-olds vaccinated (in brackets) in 2022/23. Data from NHS England:

Cumbria 94.8% (93.5%)

East Riding of Yorkshire 94.5% (94.4%)

County Durham 94.2% (94.0%)

South Tyneside 93.7% (92.7%)

Northumberland 92.5% (92.6%)

Bath & North East Somerset 92.3% (93.3%)

Derbyshire 92.2% (93.1%)

Dorset 92.1% (92.3%)

Wiltshire 92.0% (92.4%)

West Berkshire 91.9% (93.0%)

Barnsley 91.7% (92.2%)

Leicestershire 91.7% (91.9%)

North Tyneside 91.7% (92.8%)

North East Lincolnshire 91.6% (91.6%)

Bracknell Forest 91.5% (89.5%)

Hampshire 91.1% (91.0%)

Wokingham 91.1% (91.1%)

Sunderland 90.9% (92.4%)

Oxfordshire 90.8% (90.6%)

Plymouth 90.7% (91.6%)

Worcestershire 90.6% (90.6%)

Cheshire East 90.6% (89.9%)

Devon 90.5% (92.3%)

Warrington 90.4% (89.2%)

Stockport 90.4% (91.3%)

Gloucestershire 90.3% (89.3%)

Norfolk 90.3% (90.6%)

Suffolk 90.2% (89.1%)

South Gloucestershire 90.0% (91.6%)

Cheshire West & Chester 89.9% (89.9%)

Central Bedfordshire 89.9% (90.8%)

Trafford 89.8% (89.0%)

Stockton-on-Tees 89.7% (92.0%)

Herefordshire 89.6% (88.1%)

Shropshire 89.3% (89.8%)

Kirklees 89.3% (88.4%)

Buckinghamshire 89.3% (90.3%)

Cambridgeshire 89.2% (89.3%)

Torbay 89.2% (89.3%)

Hartlepool 89.2% (84.5%)

Redcar & Cleveland 89.1% (89.5%)

Windsor & Maidenhead 89.0% (88.8%)

Wakefield 88.9% (89.2%)

North Yorkshire 88.7% (90.3%)

North Somerset 88.7% (91.4%)

Wirral 88.6% (88.7%)

Rotherham 88.5% (91.8%)

Hertfordshire 88.4% (88.8%)

Essex 88.4% (88.3%)

Wigan 88.2% (88.4%)

Warwickshire 88.2% (88.5%)

Somerset 88.0% (90.4%)

Staffordshire 87.9% (89.3%)

Dudley 87.9% (89.3%)

Cornwall 87.9% (89.0%)

Darlington 87.9% (90.8%)

Bedford 87.5% (90.4%)

West Sussex 87.5% (89.5%)

Swindon 87.4% (86.8%)

Milton Keynes 87.3% (87.4%)

Lancashire 87.1% (88.1%)

St Helens 86.8% (86.0%)

Gateshead 86.8% (88.5%)

Halton 86.7% (89.0%)

Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole 86.7% (88.2%)

North Northamptonshire 86.7% (86.9%)

East Sussex 86.6% (86.8%)

York 86.5% (86.5%)

Calderdale 86.4% (85.9%)

Blackpool 86.2% (87.4%)

Sheffield 86.2% (85.2%)

Bromley 86.1% (87.0%)

Portsmouth 86.1% (86.2%)

Solihull 86.0% (85.8%)

Blackburn with Darwen 85.7% (88.2%)

Nottinghamshire 85.6% (86.0%)

Bolton 85.6% (87.6%)

Telford & Wrekin 85.5% (87.0%)

Isle of Wight 85.5% (85.5%)

Southampton 85.4% (85.7%)

Reading 85.3% (84.4%)

Newcastle upon Tyne 85.2% (85.1%)

Southend-on-Sea 84.8% (85.0%)

Stoke-on-Trent 84.3% (85.4%)

Kent 84.0% (85.2%)

Slough 83.9% (84.6%)

Lincolnshire 83.8% (83.9%)

Surrey 83.7% (83.5%)

Tameside 83.6% (86.5%)

Hull 83.4% (85.6%)

North Lincolnshire 83.4% (85.5%)

Walsall 83.2% (83.1%)

Sefton 83.2% (82.6%)

Bristol 83.0% (84.3%)

Brighton & Hove 83.0% (84.4%)

Bexley 82.9% (82.6%)

Thurrock 82.5% (82.8%)

West Northamptonshire 82.1% (85.0%)

Doncaster 82.1% (84.2%)

Derby 81.9% (79.6%)

Bury 81.5% (83.3%)

Leeds 81.3% (83.8%)

Hillingdon 81.0% (81.0%)

Salford 81.0% (79.8%)

Sutton 80.7% (77.7%)

Bradford 80.5% (83.6%)

Medway 80.5% (82.5%)

Rochdale 80.2% (85.2%)

Coventry 79.8% (81.7%)

Oldham 79.8% (80.8%)

Southwark 79.7% (82.5%)

Lewisham 79.6% (80.4%)

Luton 79.6% (81.4%)

Ealing 79.4% (81.0%)

Leicester 79.4% (79.2%)

Sandwell 79.4% (80.2%)

Havering 79.3% (79.5%)

Greenwich 79.2% (83.4%)

Middlesbrough 77.9% (82.1%)

Lambeth 77.9% (79.1%)

Harrow 77.8% (78.9%)

Wolverhampton 77.6% (79.1%)

Kingston-upon-Thames 77.1% (76.4%)

Knowsley 76.7% (76.5%)

Peterborough 76.6% (75.7%)

Hounslow 75.9% (77.9%)

Brent 75.0% (77.6%)

Birmingham 74.8% (75.1%)

Manchester 74.6% (74.5%)

Wandsworth 74.6% (75.2%)

Nottingham 74.0% (75.1%)

Tower Hamlets 73.9% (73.8%)

Liverpool 73.4% (73.6%)

Barnet 72.9% (70.6%)

Richmond-upon-Thames 72.3% (74.1%)

Merton 72.2% (71.7%)

Waltham Forest 72.0% (70.8%)

Redbridge 69.8% (69.5%)

Barking & Dagenham 68.5% (69.5%)

Croydon 68.1% (70.3%)

Newham 67.7% (68.0%)

Hammersmith & Fulham 67.6% (70.3%)

Enfield 65.8% (64.8%)

Camden 65.7% (63.6%)

Haringey 64.5% (65.9%)

Kensington & Chelsea 64.5% (67.2%)

Westminster 64.3% (74.0%)

Islington 63.8% (66.3%)

Hackney 60.8% (56.3%)