Good news this month for worried parents, as The Guardian explained: 'a baby's immune system could safely cope with as many as 10,000 vaccines...and is not at risk from the current practice of giving combinations such as measles, mumps and rubella together' according to an article in the journal Pediatrics. The New York Times reported: 'Parents who are worried about the increasing number of recommended vaccines may take comfort in knowing that children are exposed to fewer antigens in vaccines today than in the past'.

However, it might take some time for this news to filter through. According to The Independent, 'so many parents are shunning the controversial MMR vaccine that protection against childhood diseases has plunged to dangerously low levels'. A spokesman for the Royal College of Surgeons said that 'We are in very real danger of losing babies unless parents look at the medical evidence and are no longer scared by the press' (The Independent). The UK government's goal for MMR take-up is 95%, but national rates have now fallen to around 84%.

Meanwhile, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), the public–private partnership that promotes vaccine uptake in developing countries, has been accused by the charity Save the Children Fund 'of encouraging poor countries to buy expensive new vaccinations... which they will not be able to afford once the GAVI subsidy runs out in five year's time' (The Guardian). GAVI is also accused of 'being in bed with the pharmaceutical industry' (The Guardian) because representatives of vaccine companies sit on its board.