NHS bosses make vaccine plea and highlighting how jabs save lives as measles cases keep rising

North East doctors have urged people across the region to make sure they have had vital vaccines.

This comes during World Immunisation Week, and against a backdrop where measles cases continue to proliferate around the country. Since March 25, there have been 220 measles cases in England - and 23 in the North East.

Ensuring children and older people who are not fully vaccinated - get the MMR jabs, which protect against measles, mumps and rubella - is just one of the focuses of a campaign throughout the week to make sure that people are covered against a range of scary conditions.

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Others include diphtheria, hepatitis B, HPV, flu, meningitis, whooping cough and shingles.. This year marks 50 years of the NHS's childhood immunisation programme, too.

Dr Neil O'Brien, the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board's chief medical officer, said: "Vaccines have saved more lives than any other medical invention in history, helping protect millions of adults and children from serious and potentially deadly diseases.

"It's the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and those around us against ill health. If people stop having vaccines, it's possible that these diseases could quickly start to spread again."

Success eliminating the risk of - in the UK, at least - diseases such as smallpox, polio and tetanus over the last century has been lauded. Dr O'Brien added: "It's never too late to get vaccinated.

"It's especially important for young children, women who are pregnant, anyone who is immunocompromised and elderly people to ensure they get the right vaccines to protect themselves. If you think you or your child have missed any of your routine vaccination appointments, please contact your GP practice to help."

Getting jabbed to protect against measles has been a particular campaign point this year, with a huge uptick in cases. Since last October, there have been 1,212 cases, with more than two-thirds affecting children.

The UK Health Security Agency warned earlier this month: "The rapid increase in cases seen in late 2023 was initially driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham but activity there has now stabilised and in more recent weeks we have seen a rise in cases in London and smaller clusters ongoing in other regions."

Meanwhile, County Durham mum Molly PIckering told ChronicleLive how getting vaccinations during pregnancy was vital. She didn't get the whooping cough jab - and was left terrified when daughter Rosie almost died.