Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:50 pm on 23 October 2019.
Actually, the first port of call is to look at the childhood immunisation rates in addition to the potential for catch-up, because if we do safely vaccinate an even higher portion of the population, then that is the best protection for all of us. Public Health Wales, working together with colleagues and public health teams in each of the health boards, are looking again at what to do to raise again the high level of vaccination we already have to improve that even further. But the reason why the UK lost its measles-free status from the World Health Organization was because of the particularly low level of vaccinations being achieved over a period of time in England, where they're down to about 85 per cent. And it does show both the impact of investing in the earlier years part of our health and care system, but it also shows the real damage that has been done by the anti-vaxxer movement, and in particular by the legacy of Dr Wakefield, who is now disgraced and has been struck off, but there are still people prepared to support and promote his work. The real impact is in the compromise that that has left on public health right across United Kingdom, in particular in England, but there are parts of Wales where there are real gaps as well.