Figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show the percentage of children in each local authority who have had the main childhood vaccines in 2024/25: MMR, four-in-one-booster and six-in-one vaccine.
Havering’s percentage was down in each of the three vaccines from 2023/24.
The percentage of children in the borough who had the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) was at 77.4 per cent – down from 79.3pc in 2023/24.
The rate of children who had the four-in-one booster (polio, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria) vaccine was at 73.8pc – down from 78.6pc in the previous year.For the six-in-one vaccine (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, disease caused by haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B), Havering registered 91pc of children which was a minor decrease from the 91.6pc registered in 2023/24.
A Havering Council spokesperson said: “We continue to work with our NHS partners to encourage residents to get vaccinated.
“Vaccination offers safe and effective protection against preventable and potentially serious illnesses, so any fall in uptake is of real concern.
“It’s never too late to get vaccinated, so we’d urge all families to check their child’s vaccination record and contact their GP if they think any jabs are missing.
“There is a lot of misleading information about vaccination out there, so residents should speak to a trusted health professional such as their GP, nurse or health visitor, if they have any questions.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends at least 95pc of children should receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity.
However, UKHSA’s latest figures show that no local authorities reached this target in 2024/25.
