Measles vaccine plea as youngsters get ready to start school

ALMOST a quarter of schoolchildren in the Midlands heading to the classroom for the first time will not be protected against measles.

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Of the 120,622 children starting school in the region, just 76.5%, 92,217, have had their first and second vaccination doses for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).

But a massive 28,405 remain unprotected, NHS England Midlands has said.

That was despite measles outbreaks in Coventry, Birmingham and Leicester in 2024.