In Scotland after the MMR vaccination scare in 1990 the vaccination rates fell sharply. This led to the increase in measles rate among the nursery children. Hence the health officials are urging the parents to take the MMR jab as soon as possible to protect their children. Statistics show that now more than one in five nursery children are potentially at risk, compared with just three in 1998.
MMR was introduced in UK in 1988 but negative publicity that the vaccine might be linked to autism was widespread in 1998 which had an adverse effect on the vaccination scenario. A study was conducted by Dr Claire Cameron which looked at the vaccination records for Scotland for all children born between 1987 and 2004. The results of the study were published in the British Medical Journal's Archives of Disease in Childhood. It said that there was a sharp decline in vaccination schedule for children born from 1999 onwards. Parents in the most deprived areas of Scotland tended to delay vaccinating their children.But now after a lot of campaigning rates of MMR vaccine uptake have begun to improve. But it is not expected to reach the levels required for population protection among young schoolchildren. As per the vaccination schedule the first MMR dose has to be taken around 13 months, with the second between three and five years of age. Measles outbreaks were experienced in Dumfries, Galloway and Greater Glasgow because there are children out there who are not vaccinated and hence are susceptible to the disease.
