Health chiefs are urging parents across Lichfield and Burntwood to ensure their children are up to date with routine vaccinations.
It comes after data revealed that Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has seen MMR vaccine rates remain below the national average having fallen from 95% of first doses administered in 2014-15 to the current rate of 93%.
Meanwhile second doses have dropped from 92% in 2016-17 to 89%.
A spokesperson for the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board said:
“The World Health Organisation have predicted a rise in measles cases across Europe in 2023, making it is more important than ever to make sure that your child is fully protected.
“Measles can make a child seriously unwell and can lead to pneumonia with rare long-lasting conditions such as blindness and brain damage.
“To make sure your children are up to date check your child’s red book or GP records and make an appointment to catch up any missed doses.”
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board spokesperson
The vaccine offers protection against measles mumps and rubella, with children needing two doses – the first aged one and the second at three years and four months old.
