Vaccination hesitancy Resources

The measles vaccine represents a monumental achievement in modern medicine, effectively curtailing childhood mortality and morbidity on a global scale. However, recent trends in measles vaccine uptake present a concerning scenario, with declining rates posing a threat to the progress achieved in eradicating this highly contagious disease. This article delves into the pivotal role of the measles vaccine in safeguarding child health, exploring the reasons underlying vaccine hesitancy, including the controversial Lancet article, and discusses the additional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on vaccine adoption. Drawing on global data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI), this piece also assesses the consequences of dwindling measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage on community well-being and offers strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy.

The recent rise in measles cases in the UK, Europe and elsewhere in the world, cannot have gone unnoticed by anyone, especially by healthcare professionals.This paper looks at the rise in cases in the UK, Europe and elsewhere in the world, discusses possible reasons for the increase and latterly the role that general practice nurses (GPNs) play in ensuring that their patients, themselves and their colleagues are fully protected from this unpleasant disease, which can lead to serious complications, and even death.The nature of infectious diseases and outbreaks are such that the epidemiological reports are constantly updated, published erratically and often data differs between reports (due to reporting delays or erroneous case reporting). Consequently, this paper relies heavily on online reports of outbreaks and cases.