‘Wake-up’- Health Minister criticises Kilkenny parents who fail to vaccinate kids

By COLIN BARTLEY

HEALTH Minister Simon Harris said parents in Kilkenny must ‘wake-up’ after it emerged the uptake of the Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine for infants under two had fallen well below World Health Organisation (WHO) targets.

The 92% uptake of the MMR vaccine in Kilkenny falls three points below the world standard set by the WHO of 95% vaccinated.

The slowdown in parents availing of the vaccine for their infants is a worry for the government, with Minister Simon Harris going as far as to say “vaccines save lives.”

The figures come from the Department of Health’s National Healthcare Quality Reporting System annual report published yesterday.

The Kilkenny figure falls below the WHO set target aimed at eliminating measles and preventing future transmission of the virus.

Minister Harris said all progress will be lost if Ireland loses its WHO status of being measles-free.

In a tweet yesterday, Minister Harris said: “This must be a wake-up call for parents. Vaccines work, they save lives.”