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UK Kids Unvaccinated: 1 in 5 Miss Deadly Disease Protection
1 Jan
Summary
- One in five children start primary school without vital vaccine protection.
- A new pilot scheme sends health visitors door-to-door to vaccinate children.
- England's childhood vaccination rates have hit historic lows since 2010.
A critical vaccination gap has emerged in England, with approximately one in five children starting primary school lacking protection against serious diseases. In response, a new £2 million pilot scheme will launch in January, deploying health visitors to administer essential vaccines directly to children's homes. This initiative targets families who may face obstacles such as lack of GP registration, travel costs, or language barriers.
This intervention comes as childhood vaccination rates have fallen to their lowest levels in over a decade. Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows that uptake for key vaccines like MMR and Hib/MenC has declined significantly. For instance, only 91.9% of five-year-olds received one dose of the MMR vaccine in 2024-25, the lowest since 2010-11.
