Lily took Grayson for a vaccination after missing the polio and diphtheria jabs he was due at eight weeks old. The NHS classed him as overdue, and his mother said early motherhood and a long journey to a doctor’s surgery left her unable to get there on time.
“I’ve been through the trenches, awake all night. You don’t want to leave the house, or go to a different town,” she said. Her experience sits inside a wider fall in childhood coverage across England, where only 81% of five-year-olds have had the four-in-one jab and about 84% have had both recommended MMR jabs.
Keighley clinic on Airedale shopping centre
Dr Zoyah Hussain runs a walk-in vaccination clinic in a vacant retail unit at the Airedale shopping centre in Keighley. Flora Jennings said, “This was an empty shop; there was nothing here, the windows were all blacked out,” describing the space now used to bring vaccinations closer to families who might struggle with a doctor’s surgery appointment.
That practical access issue is one reason the decline has persisted over the last 15 years. In 2014, 89% of five-year-olds in England had received a four-in-one jab, and a decade ago 88% had received both recommended MMR jabs. The current figures leave children less protected against polio, tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella.
Prof Dan Hungerford on Britain
Prof Dan Hungerford of the University of Liverpool said, “If you just look at the generalised population, the decline doesn't look horrific,” before adding, “But if you compare us to other nations, particularly our European neighbours, we are one of the worst-performing countries in terms of getting early-life vaccinations to children.”
Last year saw measles outbreaks in parts of Birmingham, Bristol and north London, and so far this year two children in England have died of measles. Ben Kasstan-Dabush of the University of Edinburgh said, “Along with clean water and sanitation, immunisations have had a profound impact on keeping children alive,” as politicians weigh whether wider steps, including mandatory childhood immunisations, should follow the current fall in uptake.
The question now is whether more walk-in clinics like the one in Keighley can close the gap fast enough for families who face the same practical barriers Lily described. If they cannot, the figures already show where the pressure is landing: on babies who miss early jabs and on children entering school with lower protection than they had a decade ago.
