Do Our Children Have Too Many Injections?

[Guest guest]

Do Our Children Have Too Many Injections?

By Graham Davies

THE simmering issue of the safety of children's vaccinations has again come to the boil. Health concerns have been rife since claims that the triple MMR jab, against measles, mumps and rubella, was linked to autism.

But last Thursday, the Government announced the number of injections for babies would increase to 25 a year.

And while health professionals believe at least 50 lives will be saved a year, campaigners fear children's immune systems will become "overloaded".

Britain currently has one of the highest immunisation rates in Europe, with babies receiving 21 jabs against nine different diseases between the ages of two months and 15 months. Under the new proposals, the injections will be increased by three of pneumococcal vaccine - against meningitis, blood poisoning and pneumonia - at two, four and 13 months.

In addition, babies will receive a booster against hib, an infection that can cause bacterial meningitis, at 12 months in a combined jab with the meningitis C vaccine.

Medics welcomed the news, saying children needed to be protected from illness above all else.

They dismissed claims that babies could not cope with the increase and said the fears surrounding MMR were unfounded.

But parent campaigners demanded to see evidence that the new vaccinations would be safe.

They accused public bodies of performing "inadequate" pre- licence trials on the drugs and claimed doctors were not reporting all cases of side effects back to government.

Today, the Daily Post asks: Are we giving our children too many jabs?

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Source: Daily Post; Liverpool