Figures show Bedford has a fall in baby vaccination rates for MMR

The proportion of babies vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella has decreased in Bedford, and remains below the level needed for herd immunity.

Despite an increase in MMR vaccination rates across England, the British Society for Immunology warned that the national level was still below target and could mean diseases such as measles spreading to vulnerable, unvaccinated people.

Figures from NHS Digital show 92.7 per cent of babies in Bedford received the first dose of the MMR vaccination by their second birthday in 2019-20 .

This was a decrease on the 93.2 per cent of two-year-olds who were vaccinated the year before and means 167 babies were not inoculated this year.

Vaccination rates fell and measles rates began to rise following a study in 1998 by Dr Andrew Wakefield claiming the jabs were unsafe.

The findings were later discredited and the General Medical Council (GMC) struck him off, ruling he had been “dishonest, irresponsible and showed callous disregard for the distress and pain” of children.

Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, said: “Low levels of vaccination coverage matter as it means diseases such as measles have the potential to spread within our communities, infecting unvaccinated people, including vulnerable individuals unable to have vaccinations such as young babies or people with cancer.”

In Bedford, 90.1 per cent of children had received both doses of the MMR vaccine before the age of five in 2019-20 – compared to 86.8 per cent across England.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and NHS national director of primary care, said: “NHS staff are working hard to ensure that MMR and other vital vaccination appointments are still going ahead safely throughout the pandemic, so as a mum and a GP I want to remind other parents that getting your kids their vaccination is not only safe, but potentially life-saving.”

Separate national figures from Public Health England show the number of vaccinations for the first MMR vaccine dipped in the weeks after the coronavirus lockdown was introduced.

The PHE report suggested stay-at-home messaging and difficulty in getting a GP appointment may have contributed to a "large decline" in vaccine uptake, though rates have since risen again.