A warning has been issued to parents going on holiday with their children this summer.
Dr Zoe Williams appeared on yesterday's edition of This Morning to discuss falling rates in the uptake of the MMR vaccine. The NHS say children should get two doses of the vaccine to be protected from measles, mumps and rubella.
The first dose should be administered when a child is around one years old - and the second dose when a child is around three years and four months old. Dr Zoe was concerned as she revealed one in 10 children are set to start school without being fully vaccinated.
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She said: "Check if your children are up to date and, if not, get those vaccinations booked in as soon as possible because it can have devastating consequences." Dr Zoe explained measles is eradicated in the UK if 95 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated.
This Morning host Andi Peters was shocked as Zoe revealed the vaccine uptake in children aged five and under is currently around 85 per cent. The medical expert put the lower uptake down to complacency because we haven't seen the "devastating effects" of measles in our lifetime.
She also said it is due to people's busy lifestyle and parents thinking they weren't able to get the children vaccinated throughout the pandemic. Dr Zoe urged parents to get their child's vaccines booked in as soon as possible and said it is particularly important if families have an upcoming holiday.
She said: "Especially if you're travelling further abroad to places where these diseases might be more prevalent. If your child is due a vaccine then get it booked in before you go otherwise they're at risk.
"The main reason to get your child vaccinated is to protect them. The other reason is to protect everybody. If 95 per cent of people are vaccinated against measles then we don't have any cases.
"That means its protecting unborn babies and those under the age of one who can't be vaccinated yet and those who have weakened immune systems."
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