HEALTH leaders in Worcestershire have welcomed the announcement of a £20m vaccination campaign to catch school-age children in England who have not been immunised against measles.

With measles outbreaks sweeping through Swansea, in south Wales, English health authorities are moving to try and ensure epidemics do not happen here.

Although Worcestershire’s immunisation rate of 90.6 per cent is higher than the national average of 88.1 per cent, Dr Ash Banerjee, public health consultant for Worcestershire County Council, wants to increase it to the 95 per cent recommended by the World Health Organisation.

The national campaign is targeted at 10 to 16-year-olds who may be unvaccinated or partially vaccinated due to unfounded links between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine in the early 2000s.

Public Health England says there were 587 confirmed cases across the country by the end of March. The highest numbers of cases are in the north, with less than five in Worcestershire.

But Dr Banerjee said: “To stop local outbreaks occurring, coverage needs to be at least 95 per cent.

“In addition, coverage in older children and young adults is likely to be several percentage points lower, leaving thousands of children at risk of measles.

“The outbreak in Wales and the general national upsurge in cases means that measles could start circulating more widely in the county in the next few weeks and months.”