PEOPLE in Bradford are being reminded of the importance of vaccinations.

New figures from Unicef have revealed that over a half a million children in the UK were unvaccinated against measles between 2010 and 2017.

And vaccine rejection has been described as a "growing public health timebomb" by NHS England.

Dr Louise Clarke, GP and clinical lead for children and young people, NHS Bradford district and Craven clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) said: “Measles is highly infectious and can sometimes lead to serious complications.

"It’s so important for people to make sure that children have their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine as part of their routine childhood vaccinations.

"Adults can also be vaccinated against measles at any point if they haven’t been vaccinated before.

“If you’re unsure of whether you’re child’s vaccinations are up to date, please contact your GP practice."

She added: “Very few people are unable to have the MMR vaccine for medical reasons.

"The vaccine is safe and most side effects are mild and short-lived. If you have any concerns about the vaccine I would urge people to discuss these with their GP.”

Bradford performs better than the national average for population vaccination coverage in terms of five-year-olds who have received two doses of the MMR vaccination.

Overall vaccination rates are similar to the national average.