A new measles jab campaign is set to hit TV and social media next week as cases of the disease continue to rise in children.
The uptake for all routine childhood vaccinations has plummeted, creating a risk of outbreaks of more than a dozen serious illnesses.
At least 650 people have caught measles just since October, while more than three million are still not fully jabbed.
The UK Health Security Agency is now urging parents to protect their children from measles with an emotional clip of children asking parents whether their jabs are up to date.
They say: “Our generation’s risk of illnesses like measles and whooping cough is rising. If we’re not vaccinated, we’re not protected. We could get seriously ill, risking life-long disabilities.”
Dr Vanessa Saliba, from the UKHSA, warned that Britain didn’t meet the World Health Organisation’s 95 percent target for any vaccine last year.
She said: “We will see cases and outbreaks occurring and children becoming unwell, hospitalised and suffering needlessly because these are all preventable infections.”
The jabs are freely available on the NHS and protect against 13 diseases, including measles, polio, diphtheria, mumps, whooping cough, rubella and meningitis.
While most measles cases have cropped up in Birmingham, the disease is now spreading in London, the North West, Yorkshire and the East Midlands.
Worryingly, up to one in five children who contract it could need hospital treatment, the government warned. It can affect the lungs and brain and cause pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures.
Key symptoms of measles include fever, a cough, a cold, and a blotchy rash that is usually not itchy.
In 2017, the UK was declared measles-free after hitting the target and experiencing no measles transmission for 12 months. But the status was lost just a year later following an outbreak of cases across Europe.
Steve Russell from NHS England said: “The MMR vaccination offers the best protection against becoming seriously unwell, and while an increase in measles cases is a global issue, two doses are needed to get maximum protection.”
The MMR jab is free to everyone on the NHS and is available at GP surgeries.
