Expert calls for compulsory MMR jab
Updated on 03 June 2009
Children should have to prove they have had the MMR jab before they are allowed to start school, an expert has claimed.
Former British Medical Association (BMA) chairman Sir Sandy Macara wants the MMR jab - which guards against measles, mumps and rubella - to be made compulsory.
He has submitted a motion for debate at the BMA's annual conference later this month.
The number of children being given the vaccine plummeted after research wrongly linked it to an increased risk of autism.
The drop in take-up has been blamed for measles outbreaks across the country and raised fears it could lead to an epidemic.
Children should receive their first dose of the vaccine at 13 months of age and the second at around three years and four months of age.
But one in four children under five has not had both injections.
Sir Sandy said: "Our attempts to persuade people have failed. The suggestion is that we ought to consider making a link which in effect would make it compulsory for children to be immunised if they are to receive the benefit of a free education from the state."
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