Measles – don’t let your child catch it
Starting a new school, or school year, can be exciting and daunting for parents, carers and children alike. However, the bigger worries are the ones you might not necessarily be prepared for – like your child catching measles.
Sadly, the number of children catching measles is rising in Greater Manchester, that’s why it’s important that your child is fully protected before they start the new school year.
To get the best protection for your child they need to have two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. If your child hasn’t had both doses they will be more at risk.
Measles is a very infectious disease. It spreads easily and quickly – just a cough or sneeze can spread the measles virus to other people.
The MMR vaccination is a safe way to protect your child. You will also be protecting them against mumps and rubella, which can also be very serious.
Please contact your GP practice to make an appointment for your child to get their MMR vaccination.
For more information, please see the links below, or speak to your GP or health visitor.
All about measles
The NHS.uk has lots of helpful information about how to spot measles, what symptoms you should look out for, and what to do if you think your child has caught it.
Visit nhs.uk for information about measles Visit nhs.uk for information about measlesNeed information in different languages?
Information on measles from the UK Health Security Agency is available to download in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, Italian, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romani, Romanian, Swahili, Spanish, Turkish, Tagalog, Tamil, Ukrainian and Urdu:
MMR vaccine
The Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine helps protect children and adults against all 3 illnesses. Find out more about the illnesses and the vaccine on the link below.
Find out more about the MMR Find out more about the MMRPre-school vaccines
The MMR vaccine is just one of the vaccines that young children should have before they start school to help protect them from serious childhood illnesses.
Find out more about the pre-school vaccines Find out more about the pre-school vaccines