THE UPTAKE of the controversial MMR jab may have fallen in other parts of London, but it was a healthy 85 per cent in the boroughs of Redbridge and Waltham Forest in the first six months of the year.

Backing the under-fire single injection, Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford Primary Care Trust (PCT) rejected fears that the joint jab for measles, mumps and rubella had a link with autism, citing "extensive research" to show otherwise.

A spokesman said: "Chingford, Wanstead and Woodford Primary Care Trust fully supports the Department of Health policy of MMR immunization for children.

"The recent figures in the wards of the borough range from 68 per cent to 96 per cent. The low uptake rates in some wards are not always attributed to parental refusal."

She added: "It is known that deprivation and population mobility affects vaccine uptake and certain communities do not access immmunisation services. Improving uptake rates is a recognised local priority for the PCT."

The jab has been shunned by many parents across the capital for its alleged connection to autism, leading experts to predict a "serious" outbreak of measles cases.

However, local health bosses stress that there has been just one confirmed case of measles in the past six months caused because the child was unwell and unable to have the vaccine.

Encouraging the use of the jab, PCT's director of public health, Dr Pratibha Datta, said: "We had 88 per cent of children in the borough receiving the triple vaccination at the end of last year, which is excellent. We work closely with our general practitioners and health visitors to promote the uptake of MMR immunisation."

July 8, 2002 18:00