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Parents have forgotten that measles kills, says Lord Vallance
Vaccination rates are falling because parents have forgotten the devastating impact of childhood diseases, Lord Vallance of Balham has said.
The science minister, who became a household name during the pandemic for his regular appearance at televised Covid briefings, said immunisation had been so successful at wiping out fatal illnesses that families no longer remembered how dangerous they were.
Vallance, 65, said: 'People have forgotten that measles kills. They think, 'Oh measles — that's a pretty benign disease'. Well it's benign because we've got vaccination. We've eliminated most of it but it does kill — it kills a lot of people when it's there.'
Last year saw a huge measles spike, with 2,911 cases confirmed in England, the highest number recorded since 2012. One child in England and Wales died last year, compared to a high of 1,145 in 1941. Measles vaccination was introduced in 1968.
