Almost 1 in 5 children starting primary school are not fully protected against several serious diseases

UKHSA and NHS England are today asking parents to check their child’s vaccine records and catch up on any missed vaccinations with their GP practice. The call comes as the new school term starts and new data shows that whilst most children are fully vaccinated by the time they start school, many are still left unvaccinated and vulnerable to catching serious illnesses.

The latest annual uptake data on childhood vaccines (April 2024-March 2025) published today by the UK Health Security Agency, shows 18.6% of children, almost 1 in 5, have not received their pre-school booster jab.

The data reports on children who turned 5 between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. In England over the last 10 years, the coverage or uptake rates for the pre-school booster peaked at 86.3% in 2015 to 2016. The latest data, at 81.4%, is nearly 5% lower than the peak. Outside of London, the coverage for England was 85.0%.

The 4-in-1 pre-school booster helps protect against 4 serious illnesses – polio, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria. Given from 3 years 4 months of age, the vaccine boosts the protection provided by previous vaccines given to babies. It ensures children have the essential protection they need when starting primary school. Without this booster, children are not fully protected.

The ‘6-in-1’ vaccine is offered to babies aged 18 months. Uptake measured at 5 years in England has increased by 0.2% to 92.8%. This increase is encouraging, and healthcare professionals are urging further progress towards reaching the peak of 95.6% over the last 10 years (2016 to 2017). A further 2.8% increase is needed to reach the peak level.

NHS England and regional ICB teams have continued the drive to encourage parents to vaccinate their children including hosting extra clinics, catch up opportunities in schools and localised outreach projects to target low uptake areas across the country. Early results from today’s released data indicates that the decline in the MMR1 vaccine has stabilised with 91.8% receiving their first dose by age 5 years.

Childhood vaccination coverage varies significantly geographically and continues to be lowest for all the uptake indicators in London.

In England, areas (upper tier local authorities) in the north consistently perform better than other areas. Pre-school booster rates for Cumbria (now 2 unitary authorities, Cumberland Council and Westmoreland and Furness Council) is at 94.3%, Country Durham and East Riding of Yorkshire – 93.7%, Barnsley – 92.8% and Northumberland – 92.3%; compared with the overall England coverage of 81.4%.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Immunisation at UK Health Security Agency, said

Ensuring all our children starting primary school are fully protected is essential to keep them safe and give them the best opportunity to thrive at school. We know that most parents want to do what is best for their children and do have confidence and trust in NHS childhood vaccinations, which save thousands of lives and prevent tens of thousands of hospital admissions every year. But it can be hard juggling busy lives and work, finding time to book and get to the GP appointments.

Far too many children will not be fully protected and safe when starting school and are at risk of serious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, that have in recent years caused outbreaks. Measles, being the most infectious disease, is the ‘canary in the coalmine’ and a wake-up call that urgent action is needed to stop the very real risk of other diseases re-emerging.

That is why there needs to be a concerted effort in providing these vitally important vaccines, to make time to speak and reassure any parents who may have concerns and make it as easy as possible for their children to get vaccinated.

Parents should check their children are up to date with all their jabs and, if not, contact their GP practice as soon as possible.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said

Too many children are starting primary school without complete protection against preventable and potentially serious illnesses like measles, whooping cough and mumps.

We know parents want to do right by their children and we’re working with the NHS to make it easier for all families to access these life-saving vaccines.

Vaccines save thousands of lives every year and prevent countless hospital admissions. I urge all parents to check their child’s vaccination record and contact their GP practice if any jabs are missing.

Latest data on Vaccine-preventable diseases is available on the UKHSA Dashboard.

More information on vaccinations is available at nhs.uk/vaccinations.