West Midlands measles vaccine plea ahead of school term

Parents are being urged by health officials to make sure their children are vaccinated before the return to school as measles cases still circulate in the West Midlands.

Uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jabs by age five is as low as 75.8% in parts of the region, according the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) – the World Health Organisation recommends a 95% uptake to prevent outbreaks.

It comes after Birmingham saw an outbreak in 2025 with 26 confirmed cases between January and June, government figures showed.

Katie Spence, from the UKHSA, described measles as a “nasty virus” that can spread quickly among unvaccinated children and adults in places like schools and nurseries.

“It can lead to serious health problems including ear and chest infections, inflammation of the brain, with some children ending up in hospital and being left with permanent disabilities. Tragically, in rare cases, it can even be fatal,” she said.

“As children under the age of one cannot be vaccinated against measles, it’s important siblings are vaccinated to protect little ones and other vulnerable people – including those with weakened immune systems – who are unable to have the MMR vaccine and rely on the rest of us to protect them from measles.”

She added that if parents are unsure about their child’s vaccination record, they can check their Red Book, the NHS app or contact their GP surgery.

In 2024, figures from the UKHSA showed 329 of 465 (71%) measles cases across England from October 2023 to February 2024 were in the West Midlands.

A GP in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham said at the time that, in the majority of cases, medics were seeing were in unvaccinated people.

The latest measles data from the UKHSA this summer revealed that there have been 674 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England since 1 January, with 145 in 3-31 July.

The West Midlands had 34 out of the 674 cases.