Early Years Alliance encourages settings to help parents protect their children from measles, mumps and rubella

Following today's launch of the Childhood Vaccination Campaign 2022, by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the NHS, the Early Years Alliance has highlighted the role that early years settings and educators play in helping to inform parents about the risks of measles mumps and rubella. 

The campaign aims to support an increase in the number of people getting their children vaccinated, after coverage of the vaccine among two-year-olds fell to 90% to avoid the risk of a resurgence in any of the three infectious diseases as Covid-19 measures come to an end.

A survey of 2,000 parents of children aged 5 and under, commissioned by DHSC and UKHSA, showed that almost 1 in 5 (18%) parents who haven’t had their child vaccinated for MMR are not aware that measles, mumps and rubella remain a threat in the UK and that almost half of parents (48%) are not aware that measles can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and brain inflammation.

A number of resources are now available from  as part of the campaign, including digital and physical posters, social media assets and links to the 'MMR for all' NHS leaflet.

Melanie Pilcher, Quality and standards manager at the Early Years Alliance, said: 

"Early years providers offer a safe space for parents to discuss their child’s health and development, and so the campaign and resources will be extremely beneficial to early educators, enabling them to signpost families to clear and reliable information on the MMR vaccine.  

"Catching measles, mumps or rubella can result in serious illness and complications, so it’s really important that parents ensure their children receive two doses of the jab, which offers the best long-term protection against the three viruses.

"We know parents and carers are often unsure who to talk to about the MMR vaccine, so we would encourage early years providers to support the campaign and help ensure families get the information they need to feel confident about how to protect their children against these infectious diseases."

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • For more information about the MMR vaccine, families can visit  or download the 'MMR for all' leaflet in English, Polish, Romanian or Somali here: 
  • As well as directing parents to the leaflet and web page, early years settings can also access new posters and digital assets from Public Health England to help inform parents about measles, mumps and rubella here:  
  • The full UKHSA news release is available here: