Research launched at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester shows only 63% of UK parents vaccinate their children against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), sparking concerns about the potential for an epidemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that if immunisation coverage against MMR is less than 95%, measles could become an epidemic.

Brighton School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Pharmacists found that UK parents had concerns about the safety of the MMR vaccine, considered their children to be ‘delicate’ and preferred a single vaccine.

Angela MacAdam and Paul Gard led the research. Angela MacAdam said: ‘It is worrying that the vaccination rate is this low. We believe that the problem stems from a basic distrust in the Government’s health advice.’

‘This sample of parents shows us that work must be done to convince parents they should immunise their children against MMR in order to meet the WHO’s recommended coverage of 95% and ensure the incidence of these diseases doesn’t spiral into an epidemic.’

‘There is a lot of conflicting information in the media and on the internet about MMR and this makes it challenging for parents to make a decision. They can have confidence in their local pharmacist’s knowledge of medicines and turn to them for expert advice and information.’

‘Community pharmacists are ideally placed to help parents – they are easy to access in the places that people work, shop and live, and you don’t need an appointment to talk to one.’

Back in January a £3m national publicity campaign to provide reassurance about the safety of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was launched by the Department of Health.

The campaign aimed to provide information to parents and health care professionals in the light of the latest report by Dr Andrew Wakefield into which the safety of the MMR vaccination was questioned.

The Department of Health repeatedly emphasized the safety of MMR vaccines, stating it has been numerously reviewed by the Government’s independent advisory committees, including the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

They are now encouraging parents to turn to community pharmacists for the facts as knowledge of parents’ beliefs will enable pharmacists to have a more informed role in pharmacy public health issues, vaccination debates and in managing future health promotion campaigns around MMR.