Urgent ‘tripledemic’ health alert issued to all parents as cases of killer viruses surge putting lives ‘at risk’

AN URGENT ‘tripledemic’ health alert has been issued over three killer viruses.

Parents have been warned to protect their kids against surging cases of whooping cough and measles, as RSV also threatens little ones.

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Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has killed a reported ten infants since November last year.

It is a super-contagious infection of the lungs as breathing tubes that can linger for weeks or months and cause serious complications such as pneumonia.

As babies have an especially high risk of severe illness, the pertussis vaccine is offered to all pregnant women between 16 and 32 weeks along to protect their babies.

But most recent figures suggest uptake is around just 60 per cent.

The latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency show 12,200 confirmed cases between January and July 2024.

Health officials warned of a potential surge in infections once the school year got going.

Meanwhile, data also shows World Health Organisation targets of 95 per cent vaccination for under-fives are being missed in England.

This includes the six-in-one jab which protects against whooping cough, polio and tetanus, as well as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

Since January, there have been 2,465 confirmed measles cases reported in England.

The virus is very contagious and can lead to severe complications, such as brain swelling, blindness, pneumonia, or death.

It emerged earlier this month that a child had died from the disease in the first quarter of the year, leading health chiefs to plead with parents to make sure their children are given the MMR jab.

The MMR jab protects against measles, mumps and rubella. It’s offered to children when they’re one and then against when they’re aged three years and four months.

The latest annual data on vaccinations published by NHS England shows that 16.1 per cent of children who turned five between April 2023 and March 2024 had not received both doses of the MMR vaccine.

This is the lowest level of uptake documented since 2010-11, although 91.9 per cent of five-year-olds had been given at least one dose.

The figures also show one in nine children (11.1 per cent) who had their second birthday in 2023-24 did not get the first dose of the MMR vaccine.

Meanwhile, one in 12 babies (8.8 per cent) had not received all three doses of the six-in-one vaccine.

Vaccine ‘umbrellas’

It comes shortly after Brits were urged to take up the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine if invited.

A rollout for the jab started early September, offering high protection against RSV – a common cause of coughs and colds that can lead to killer lung infections in the most vulnerable.

Babies, adults over 75, people with heart and lung disease or anyone with a weak immune system is at greater risk of severe RSV infection and may need admission to hospital, particularly in the winter months.

The NHS rolled out vaccines offering protection against the RSV for the first time in September.

The jab is available to adults aged 75 to 79, as pregnant women from 28 weeks, to protect their child from the virus.

Amid fears around rising cases of whooping cough, measles and RSV, experts launched a campaign to boost jab uptake in the UK.

Researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group – part of the University of Oxford – have developed an animation high the “critical role” whooping cough jabs play in protecting against infection.

The campaign created by the Vaccine Knowledge Project team at the Oxford Vaccine Group aims to educate and inform the public about how vaccines protect entire communities – including vulnerable newborns and older adults – as well as individuals.

The Vaccine Knowledge Project was formed by leading paediatrician and vaccine scientist Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, also director of the Oxford Vaccine Group.

Sir Andrew said: “The recent outbreaks of measles and whooping cough all across the UK, which have arisen because of falling vaccination rates, threaten the lives of the vulnerable, especially young children.

“Vaccines are the umbrellas that keep the rain away from all those who shelter beneath them.

“If we are to stay dry, we must put the umbrellas back up.

“Make sure that every child is immunised today.”

The new resources showcased by the Vaccine Knowledge Project come in a short animation and a graphic booklet.

Charlie Firth, vaccine knowledge and public engagement manager at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “We have recently seen drops in vaccination levels for various diseases.

“Whether that be drops in whooping cough vaccines in pregnant people leading to deaths in babies or an increase in cases of measles.

“There has been a range of reasons for this drop in vaccination, ranging from vaccine hesitancy, inequities in access to services, and complacency.

“Many of the diseases we are trying to protect against have not been seen in a long time, and so the perception within the general public of the importance of vaccination seems to have dropped.”

He said as rates of certain diseases increase, the most vulnerable in society suffer, including babies who are too young to be vaccinated or people with certain health issues that mean they cannot be immunised.

Mr Firth said: “These are the people that rely on herd immunity.

“The people who cannot be vaccinated themselves are still afforded some protection.

“But when these levels of population vaccination drop, the community protection given to these vulnerable individuals disappears and they quickly face a higher risk of disease.

“By getting vaccinated, you are protecting yourself, but you are also protecting your friends, you are protecting your family, and you are protecting the most vulnerable in our community who cannot get vaccinated themselves.”

Meanwhile, bookings for flu and Covid vaccines for eligible Brits also opened this week – with the jabs set to be administered from October 3.