Vaccine alert for parents over kids travel due to spike in measles cases

Families have been urged to check their MMR vaccine status protection against measles, particularly ahead of the Easter break when many take advantage of school holidays to travel abroad. 

Several European countries have been reporting measles outbreaks recently, and a man from Mullingar sadly died from measles in recent weeks. 

It is important for people to plan ahead and get vaccinated weeks in advance, according to health experts. 

Family healthcare advocate and pharmacist Sheena Mitchell, urges everyone to check their MMR vaccine status before any scheduled travel in the coming weeks and months. She says contrary to current HSE advice, the updated National Immunisation Guidelines state that any child aged 12-months and older who hasn't received two MMR vaccines, should receive both doses before they travel to an area where there is a suspected measles outbreak.

A suspected measles outbreak may be defined as five or more confirmed measles cases with rash onset 7–21 days apart, that are epidemiologically linked.

Since numerous European countries are reporting new measles cases every week, including one in Northern Ireland last week and 56 new cases across the UK in the first two weeks of February, the community pharmacist is urging caution. Parents of young children and adults unsure of their vaccine status and travelling to a country where there is an outbreak may need to book their MMR vaccine six weeks before they travel. Schools break for the Easter holidays on Friday 22nd March.

Ms Mitchell, pictured above, who is a pharmacist and health advocate at WonderCare.ie says: “I am inundated with requests for advice from people due to travel this Easter and further ahead into the Summer months. It’s already less than four weeks before the school holidays start for Easter. Parents of unvaccinated children need to plan their two doses of the MMR now with their GP. Unfortunately, the HSE have yet to mobilise the ready and willing pharmacy community to help roll out the MMR vaccines as part of the catch-up programme.

“What is worse is that the people contacting me are getting contradictory advice from calling the HSE, their Local Health Office and indeed their own GP. It is there in black and white on the National Immunisation website that children travelling to a country with an outbreak need two doses, but parents are having to plead their case. I’ve also received anecdotal feedback that people are being charged for their MMR vaccine if outside the normal schedule. Perhaps some GPs are not up to date on the new parameters of the catch-up programme, but this should definitely not be happening”.

It takes time for the MMR vaccine to be fully effective in terms of achieving 99% immunity. Adults and children with no vaccination records will require two doses of the MMR vaccine to achieve full immunity. These vaccines need to be administered with a minimum of four weeks between each dose, with the second vaccine given at least two weeks prior to travel.

This means those travelling need to plan six weeks ahead. This includes destinations like popular destinations like London where there has been a recent surge in Measles cases. Unfortunately, there is also a seasonal element to the measles infection and Spring is considered the time of year that it spreads most easily.

Planning ahead will also be key for summer travel as only some GPs are participating in the MMR catch-up programme and pharmacists not yet allowed to help administer the vaccine. Summer destinations recently experiencing outbreaks of Measles include Italy, Portugal, Spain and Germany amongst others.

The WHO report that as a direct result of the pandemic, there was an average drop of around 5% in vaccination rates across Europe. This small drop in vaccination coverage has caused outbreaks of Measles due to its extremely infectious nature.

A nationwide survey of 200 of the 850 practicing community vaccinating pharmacies in Ireland resulted in a 100% positive response to participle in the HSE MMR vaccine catch-up programme. Pharmacists are already giving vaccines for Flu and Covid and are perfectly positioned to provide easily accessible vaccination in almost every town and village across Ireland.

Ms Mitchell also has a personal interest to help Ireland achieve herd immunity from measles. As an immunocompromised person, and unvaccinated against Measles herself due to allergy related medical advice when she was a child, Sheena now cannot receive the MMR vaccine. Thousands more vulnerable people just like Sheena living in Ireland who rely on herd immunity and depend on those who can get the recommended vaccines on offer to protect themselves from infection.

Community pharmacists are experienced and competent vaccinators and should be used to help get Ireland’s population vaccination rate up to the recommended 95% to prevent outbreaks of Measles.

Ireland’s vaccination rate has dropped from over 93% prior to the pandemic, to a stark 87%. This average vaccination rate varies geographically, with some counties falling so far below the recommended 95% by the WHO that it is frightening.

• Louth - 77%
• Meath - 78.5%
• Donegal - 81.2%
• Dublin – ranging between 85 to 87%

Ms Mitchell reiterated her call to the Minister for Health to get pharmacists vaccinating for Measles: “I am starting to refer to our health service as an illness service. We have an opportunity to be proactive and safeguard public health rather and it is not being seized, despite advice from the European Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation to do so. Is it a cost issue? Surely not, dealing with a surge in measles cases here would cost financially than to vaccinate. That is not to mention the real cost of losing human lives by not vaccinating to prevent rather than treat the illness. It is not just the human cost in terms of deaths either, there are significant lifelong complications associated with measles infection.

“Now is our chance to change the future. We have the resources with pharmacists willing and able to help. We have a safe vaccine, we have an appetite for vaccination, we just don’t have a proactive attitude to healthcare. GPs alone cannot be expected to continue to shoulder the burden of our failing health service,” Ms Mitchell said.