Sophie now advocates for vaccinations, having witnessed the devastating effects of measles on her son, (Image: SWNS)
A mother who almost lost her unvaccinated child to measles is now “urging parents to get their children vaccinated” as immunisation rates decline. Sophie Dale, 28, was initially “nervous and doubtful” about vaccinating her son Levi due to misleading posts on TikTok and Facebook that falsely linked the measles vaccination to debunked autism risks.
Despite her fears, Sophie scheduled his first MMR jab, but the 11-month-old contracted measles just days before his injection appointment. He suffered multiple seizures and spent six days in hospital battling for his life after developing a severe case of sepsis.
Levi survived and is now a “perfectly healthy and thriving six-year-old little boy”, as well as being an excellent older brother to one year old sister Winnie. Sophie now advocates for vaccinations, having witnessed the devastating effects of measles on her son, and has even created a few TikToks herself to help educate others.
Her fears did not delay Levi’s vaccination date; he simply caught the disease coincidentally before his scheduled jab appointment. New data from NHS England for 2023/2024 reveal that not a single childhood vaccine met the threshold for herd immunity.
Levi survived and is now a “perfectly healthy and thriving six-year-old little boy” (Image: SWNS)
The number of children fully vaccinated for MMR by age five – and 13 other childhood vaccines – has dropped to one in six, corroborating previous findings from The World Health Organisation (WHO). Sophie, a stay-at-home mum from Chesham, Bucks, advised: “Even if you’re doubtful, go and speak to professionals.
“Go to doctors and nurses and say ‘I’m scared because I’ve seen this and could you give me more information’. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if I kept umming and ahing because of false information.
“I admit that I was a bit nervous when I was deciding to vaccinate Levi. He couldn’t properly understand why his mum was allowing them to prod and poke him – even though they were saving his life I just wanted them to stop hurting him.
“Even after what happened to Levi, with my second child, I was still nervous to get her vaccinations done because of the scaremongering. I sent her with her dad because it was still nerve-wracking. But I knew I had to do it. I get the fear around vaccinations but this is what happened to my son.”
The number of children fully vaccinated for MMR by age five – and 13 other childhood vaccines – has dropped to one in six (Image: SWNS)
Leading up to his jab, Levi had a high temperature and some residual rash from the measles, but had mainly recovered from the illness. The day before his first birthday party Sophie got a phone call to say he had taken a turn while she was shopping for his birthday cake ingredients, in November 2018.
She said: “I rushed home and his temperature was crazy. When we arrived at the hospital a team of what looked like 20 people took him away. It was so scary – I remember thinking ‘this is what you see on 24 Hours in A&E’. I couldn’t watch but I could hear his screams.”
After a harrowing six-day stay at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, the young boy was discharged, yet faced a year of medical follow-ups to determine whether sepsis had impaired his hearing or vision.
Sophie admitted: “I didn’t realise how serious it was at the time. But I was told the measles had basically destroyed his immune system, and he developed sepsis while fighting it. By the grace of God he is now a-ok but sometimes I look back at the hospital pictures and I can’t believe it.”
Levi is now thriving (Image: SWNS)
In a joint effort with Sophie, the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) is urgently calling on parents to vaccinate their children, following alarming NHS statistics.
Data released on September 17 reveals a troubling decline in the uptake of the 14 routine childhood jabs, including the MMR vaccine. The vaccination rates have plummeted below the threshold required to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
This comes against the backdrop of a dramatic rise in measles cases this year, totalling 2,465, predominantly affecting unvaccinated children, and tragically resulting in one fatality.
Sophie expressed her dismay: “It’s shocking that social media still has that impact of spreading misinformation – especially TikTok. I think people, like myself, are easily influenced and it’s so easy to be scare mongered.
Levi was left fighting for his life in hospital (Image: SWNS)
“I still find it nerve-wracking as I’m about to have another baby due this October. But looking at the people around me, all the children, nieces, nephews, neighbours who probably all have the vaccine. Has something ever happened to them? Probably not. So looking at my immediate circle and friends and family helped calmed my mind a lot.”
Sophie, who is anticipating the arrival of her third child this October, has declared “she will be getting all her vaccines”.