All routine childhood vaccinations fall below 95% target in England

Coverage for all routine vaccinations for children under the age of five in England are now below the 95% target set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

NHS Digital data published today reveals that uptake for 13 of the 14 routine vaccinations have fallen in 2021-21, compared with the previous year.

According the NHS digital, some of this decrease in vaccine coverage is likely due to disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The data shows that in 2021-22, only 89% of children had had their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, down from 90% the year before. Only 85% had received their second dose by their fifth birthday, a decrease from 87% the previous year.

Of all the vaccinations offered to under fives, only the coverage of pneumococcal disease has increased. However, this is compared to 2019-20 figures, as there is no data for 2020-21. Although it increase from 93% to 94% in this time, this is still below the 95% WHO target.

The region with the highest childhood vaccination coverage for MMR was the north east of England with 94.5%, but no region met the WHO target.

An NHS spokesperson said: “This data covers the pandemic, when people were much less likely to come forward for childhood vaccinations.

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‘Childhood vaccinations last for life so it is never too late to come forward for one, which is why this year the NHS launched a wider childhood vaccination recovery programme including a mass MMR catch-up campaign to help vaccinate children who missed a vaccine – any parent or carer whose child missed out on a vaccination should come forward and book their child in without delay.’

There was also a very slight decrease in coverage of the 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 vaccines which are normally given to children in a course of three doses at 12 months to protect against diptheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, Hib and hepatitis B.

With national coverage down only 0.2% on the previous year, eight out of nine regions were able to achieve 90% coverage. However, only the north east was able to reach the target of 95%.

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In London, which had the lowest uptake of both vaccines, only 87% had received the 6-in-one or 5-in-one vaccinations by their second birthday.