Experts have expressed alarm at the drop in take-up of all routine childhood vaccinations across England, with a marked decline in rates against 13 different diseases, which leaves many thousands of children under-protected.

The UK recently lost its measles-free status because of the fall in rates of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) immunisation. But the latest figures from NHS Digital for England in the year to the end of March 2019 show a loss of confidence for vaccinations more generally.

At the ages of 12 months, 24 months and five years there has been a marked decline in vaccination rates against 13 different diseases, including whooping cough (pertussis), diphtheria and meningitis.

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Measles protection is down again – part of a protracted fall in take-up of the MMR jab that has led to outbreaks across Europe, which have then spread into England. Measles had been officially eradicated in the UK, but the World Health Organization recently withdrew its measles-free status.

Coverage of 95% of the population is necessary to prevent outbreaks. Among children aged 24 months, vaccination in England has dropped from 91.2% in 2017-18 to 90.3% in 2018-19. The rate has gone down each year for the last five years.

Confidence in the MMR jab appears to have been dropping at least partly in response to social media misinformation and scare stories. The discredited claims of Andrew Wakefield, who in 1998 theorised that the jab was linked to autism, are widely circulated.

There are regional differences, with greatest confidence in the north-east, where coverage is 94.5%. London had the lowest MMR vaccination rate in 2018-19 at just 83%, down from 85.1% in 2017-18.

The figures show that the drop in trust in vaccines has expanded to affect even the basic immunisation given to babies in their first year of life. Take-up of the five-in-one vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), has dropped for the sixth year from 93.1% in 2017-18 to 92.1% in 2018-19. Among children aged 24 months, coverage has dropped below the 95% target for the first time since 2008-09, to 94.2% in the year to March.

Other vaccines affected are pneumococcal disease (PCV), rotavirus, meningococcal group B (MenB), Hib booster and meningococcal group C vaccine (Hib/MenC) and children’s flu vaccines.

Prof Heidi Larson, who runs the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the figures were concerning. “I would stress this is not just a blip, but has been an incremental but persisting decline over multiple years,” she said.

“The recent loss of the UK’s measles-free elimination status – along with Albania, Czech Republic and Greece – should be a wake-up call that this is getting serious.”

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said significant numbers of children were affected. “Although these changes are small proportions, these are big drops in terms of public health.

“The trend is a concerning continuation of what we’ve seen in the last five years. No parent should be in any doubt of the devastating impact of these diseases. It’s vital that everyone recognises the value of vaccines and takes up this life-saving offer.”

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, who has expressed interest in mandatory vaccinations for children before they are allowed to go to school, said: “Falling childhood vaccination rates are unacceptable. Everyone has a role to play in halting this decline.

“The loss of our measles-free status is a stark reminder that devastating diseases can, and will, resurface. We need to be bold and I will not rule out action so that every child is properly protected.”

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Vaccines are a vital, life-saving part of our country’s public health and the numbers of children not being vaccinated is concerning.

“No one should be complacent about getting their own or their child’s jabs and so the NHS is taking action, with its partners, to combat the decline.”

Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham, said the reasons for the fall in immunisation were complex. “Some of it is down to misinformation of vaccine dangers that still do the circuit on social media, and some communities and groups of people have consistently been difficult to engage with, but I suspect that much of it is down to the fact that we have forgotten just how serious these infections can be, and have started to think of them as simply trivial childhood infections.

“We all lead busy lives and it might be tempting to put off a trip to the GP for convenience’s sake. But the importance of getting our children immunised can not be overstated.”