Warning issued after major drop in vaccinations for three deadly diseases

The number of people getting vaccinated against harmful viruses is dropping.

As fewer people get their jabs for MMR (measles mumps and rubella), flu, and Covid - experts have warned there could be more outbreaks of diseases and poorer health in the region. It's not a local, but national issue, leaders here say.

The NHS has launched a new strategy which aims to get more people vaccinated against deadly diseases.

READ MORE: Manhunt underway after group 'targeted' in terrifying shooting before suspect flees scene in car

READ MORE: 'Horrendous' gridlocked traffic across Trafford with Christmas shoppers left trapped in car parks for hours after M60 is closed

Rachael Musgrave, director for public health in Wigan, said: “Vaccines are our best defence for protecting people’s health. We have a huge variety of vaccination programmes and all those are there for a reason - to protect people.

“They (vaccines) are second only to clean water in terms of the impact of public health. We are keen to keep the vaccines going over the winter period.

“Without a shadow of a doubt vaccines are important, if you look at the eradication of some diseases such as smallpox, polio and tetanus, which would kill and disable people in the past, they’ve gone (with the help of vaccines)."

Vaccine uptake is lower across the board for the usual jabs of flu and Covid in Wigan, local health data has shown. But one big concern for Ms Musgrave is the drop in children getting an MMR jab.

Two-year-olds with the MMR jab have dropped from 95.3 per cent in 2013/14 to 92.5 per cent. Also, the number of five-year-olds who got both MMR jabs dropped from 92.4 per cent in 2014/15 to 88.4 per cent in 2022/23.

Health bosses have stressed that the consequences of