WE DID IT!

When Joy Ugochukwu Chinelo moved to the UK from Nigeria in September last year she thought her children’s vaccination records were up to date. Closer inspection by her GP showed that they didn’t match British records.

The ones they had received were not on the list, so they were advised to have new vaccinations,” she said.

Proof that it is never too late to be immunised, Joy’s daughters Chisom, 17, Vanessa, 14 and their cousin Mmesoma, 15, all received several vaccinations including MMR and DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough).

“They were alright,” she said. “They had a slightly sore arm afterwards, but we were all laughing because they had so many plasters on their arms I thought they looked like robots!”

Joy discussed vaccinations with the children before they agreed to have them. “I told them how important it was to stop them getting the diseases but also to prevent other people getting ill.

“I am a carer and it is very important that I don’t pass anything on.” She added, “It is a good thing – we don’t know what’s coming around the corner and it is so important to protect our young ones.”

HOW DOES THE MMR VACCINE WORK?

The MMR vaccine is a safe and effective combined vaccine. It protects against three illnesses: measles, mumps and rubella.

The highly infectious conditions can easily spread between unvaccinated people and can lead to serious problems including meningitis, hearing loss and problems during pregnancy.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide the best protection against measles, mumps and rubella. The NHS advises anyone who has not had two doses of the MMR vaccine to ask their GP for a vaccination appointment.

Two doses of the jab protect around 99 per cent of people against measles and rubella, while around 88 percent of people are protected against mumps.

Source: NHS

In a recent national newspaper article, the award winning journalist and former host of TV’s Mastermind, recounts the events of a day that would blight the rest of his father’s life.

“It was one of those rare perfect winter days,” he writes in a national newspaper. “The snow had stopped falling during the night, the sky had cleared, and the streets were coated in a crisp white layer reflecting the bright sun. A perfect day for small boys to throw snowballs at each other.

“My father, George, was desperate to be one of those boys. Instead, he was shut in his bedroom, the curtains tightly drawn.”

He explained the reason for his father’s confinement on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“In those days,” he said, “everybody knew that if you had measles you had to stay indoors. Not because of catching a cold or anything but because the optic nerve could be affected badly.”