Information and resources for MMR immunisation,
You will be aware that there is currently a notable rise in the number of measles cases in London and the West Midlands, with small clusters of outbreaks in North West London and South East London in recent weeks in particular. We know that having the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect our communities and therefore activities aimed at improving uptake in MMR vaccinations, improving recording of MMR vaccination status and reducing the risk of outbreaks in England and London will support this goal.
Since May 2023, London systems have been co-ordinating the contacting of parents/guardians of un- and under-vaccinated children aged 1yr to 11 yrs and inviting them for vaccination, to complete their two dose course of immunisation for MMR. There are also a number of co-ordinated initiatives taking place across London, in primary care, community settings, schools and other places where families and young people can receive health information and immunisation messages and have a vaccination. Each ICP is co-ordinating an MMR action plan. A huge thank you to everyone who has been working on this over the last few months. If you haven’t yet been involved in this, please do contact your local ICB imms lead for further information.
In addition to those activities, the GP annual immunisation campaign NHS England » Confirmation of national vaccination and immunisation catch-up campaign for 2023/24 and a national call/recall campaign for 6 to 25 yr olds across London is also underway.
The national call/recall campaign for 6 to 25 yr olds, whose primary care records indicate that they are un- or under-vaccinated for MMR, will start on 5th February – see attached timeline. Parents/guardians/young people will receive a nationally generated invitation.
From 5 February – all children in England children aged 6 to 11 years and aged 11 yrs to 16 yrs in London and parts of the West Midlands, who are known to be un- or under-vaccinated for MMR will receive a communication (text/email or letter). The nationally generated offer of vaccination will advise the parent/guardian that records show that their child may not be fully vaccinated for MMR and to contact their GP or SAIS provider to arrange an appointment for vaccination.
From 19th February – young adults aged 16 to 19 years and 19 to 25 years in London and parts of the West Midlands who are un- or under-vaccinated for MMR, will receive a communication (text/email/letter). The nationally generated offer of vaccination will advise the young adult that records show that they may not be fully vaccinated for MMR and to contact their GP to arrange an appointment for vaccination.
All providers offering vaccination should first check the person’s record to confirm current vaccination status – this might be the child’s red book, their CHIS or GP/primary care record.
Attached and as hyperlinks are a range of resources to support this campaign. Local and regional comms teams are also doing focussed outreach and media campaigns to support the national call/recall and other MMR/polio activity. The national UKHSA toolkit can be found here. The regional NHSE toolkit is attached to this email.
Action to take:
- GP practices/practice nurses –
- please continue to invite children aged 1yr to 5 yrs as per annual GP campaign guidance NHS England » Confirmation of national vaccination and immunisation catch-up campaign for 2023/24
- over the coming weeks, please be ready to respond to calls/queries from families of children/young people aged 6yrs to 25yrs who have received a national call/recall communication. Please check their records and offer vaccination. It may help to also run local practice IT searches to understand who within the practice in the age range, are un- or under-vaccinated for MMR
- please continue to support other local ICP system actions that are designed to increase awareness and encourage vaccination. See attached NHSE toolkit or contact your local imms co-ordinator/your local ICB imms team or your NHSE London imms team for further information
- SAIS providers –
- please continue to contact parents/guardians of children aged 5yrs to 11 yrs who are under- or un-vaccinated
- please be ready to respond to calls/queries from families of children aged 6 to 16 years who have received a national call/recall communication and who choose to contact their local SAIS provider, to offer an appointment to check their records and offer vaccination
- Immunisation co-ordinators/ICBs/DsPHs/HV & SN services –
- please continue to support the work of primary care and SAIS providers with activities/messaging/MECC conversations/technical support etc
- please continue to engage with the ICP system action plans for MMR immunisation
This email is being cascaded to a range of stakeholders who are involved in immunisations, to ensure that people have the information they need to support both the national MMR call/recall campaign and all the other initiatives taking place across London to improve uptake of MMR and other childhood immunisations.
If you have any questions about MMR immunisation, please do contact either your local ICB or borough immunisation lead, your local SAIS team or the regional team for more information.
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