16/09/2025
Vaccines 1
Why are vaccines important?
Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases but beware of anti-vaccine stories which are spread online through social media and off-line. This information may not be based on scientific evidence and could put your child at risk of a serious illness. All the current evidence tells us that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated.
However, if people stop having vaccines, it’s possible for infectious diseases to quickly spread again. Measles and mumps are starting to appear again in England, even though the MMR vaccine is the best protection against both diseases.
This is serious, as measles can lead to life-threatening complications and mumps can cause hearing loss. If 95% of children receive the MMR vaccine, this would stop measles spreading completely. However, measles, mumps and rubella can quickly spread again if fewer than 90% of people are vaccinated. Since vaccines were introduced into the UK diseases like smallpox, polio and tetanus that used to kill or disable millions of people have gone away or are very rarely seen.
