Further information on immunisation in Southwark

MMR
During 2005/06, 63% of 2 year olds in Southwark had received the MMR vaccination.  While the number of children taking up the immunisation is still relatively low, it has improved on the 2004/05 uptake of 60%.

MMR uptake rates in PCT’s in South East London, London and England at age 2 years, 2004/05

Source: NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 2004-05

Compared to regional and national rates, uptake rates of the vaccination in all the boroughs in South East London are low. There are several reasons why the uptake of the vaccination is low in Southwark. These include:

• Data quality — systems are complex and paper-based and hence official figures may be under-reporting the real uptake rate.
• High population mobility — Southwark has a very mobile population making it more difficult to keep track of children.
• Media — there has been the much talked about adverse publicity around MMR safety.

Flu
Uptake of the flu vaccination in Southwark in people aged 65 years and over increased last winter (2005/06) compared to the previous winter (2004/05). In Southwark in 2005/06, 61.5% of people aged 65 years and over had the vaccine compared to 54.8% in 2004/05. However, we still have some way to go to reach the national target of 70%.