Ken Livingstone yesterday provoked the fury of the public health establishment when he advised London parents not to give their children the MMR vaccination but to opt for single jabs instead.
The London mayor, whose own first baby is due later this year, effectively accused ministers of lying to the public when he claimed that their refusal to provide separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella on the NHS was "about saving time and money" rather than ensuring children are protected as effectively as possible from disease.
The director of public health for London, Dr Sue Atkinson, who is also health adviser to the Greater London Authority, to which Mr Livingstone is accountable, contradicted his claims, saying the best decision parents could make for their children was to give them the MMR jab.
Some critics of Mr Livingstone suggested his intervention could reflect a desire to shift media attention from claims that he was involved in a fracas at a party. That incident has been referred by Liberal Democrat GLA members to the local government watchdog, the standards board for England, for investigation, a move the mayor yesterday condemned as a "smear" attempt. However, his comments on MMR during a Radio 5 Live phone-in - described as "just his personal reaction" by one ally - are likely to do little to advance his application to rejoin the Labour party and run as the party's candidate in the next mayoral elections.
Renewed controversy over the safety of the MMR vaccine, which some research has suggested may be linked with bowel disease and autism, flared this year amid growing calls from campaigners for separate jabs.Parental concern saw a dip in MMR take-up, particularly in London, and, in February, two outbreaks of measles in London and another in Gateshead. MMR take-up in the capital between January and March this year stood at 72.6%, compared with 83.3% in England as a whole.
The Department of Health "categorically" rejected the suggestion that the government's decision to recommend MMR was based on financial or administrative considerations.
A spokeswoman said: "All authoritative medical and scientific advice is that single vaccines deliberately leave children at risk of disease for longer and these diseases have potentially serious complica tions." Since single vaccines are not available on the NHS, parents have to pay, with sums for a whole course running into hundreds of pounds. Clinics offering separate jabs have long waiting lists, increasing the time children are exposed without immunity.
