Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are being urged by the chief medical officer to offer the MMR vaccine to every child who has not had it, and trusts are also being asked to encourage parents to get their children immunised.
The number of cases of measles in England and Wales has increased in recent years – there were 1,726 cases in 2006 and 2007 – more than the previous ten years put together.
It is thought controversy over the MMR immunisation and speculation over a link to autism may have discouraged parents from having their children immunised.
PCTs will receive around £30,000 for the programme. David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said: “The evidence on MMR is absolutely clear – there is no link between the vaccine and autism.”
