Ellie Roscoe’s mother decided against a measles vaccine when she was a child over long-debunked fears of a link to autism. Now, she says everyone should get the jab.
By Becky Johnson, Communities correspondent @BeckyJohnsonSky
A woman who fell seriously ill with measles is urging people to make sure they and their children are fully vaccinated.
Ellie Roscoe, now 29, lives in Birmingham, where the largest number of cases of measles have been identified during the current outbreak.
She has ongoing health problems. She spent a week in hospital aged 22 when she developed a rash and high temperature that left her delirious.
Initially, doctors thought she just had a virus. But as her condition deteriorated, they carried out further tests.
“It turned out to be measles. It affected my lungs and liver as well,” she said.
Her mother, Debbie Roscoe, had decided not to get Ellie fully vaccinated as a child due to a now-disproven health scare linking the MMR jab to autism.
“I’ve got a friend who’s got two severely autistic children,” Ms Roscoe said.
“And the choice was ‘do I go ahead with the second vaccine or not? Am I risking measles or autism?’
“And I thought at the time that the autism was far worse than the measles, thinking that measles was only possibly a high temperature for a few days and a rash.
“Obviously now we know different, but we can’t go backwards. We have to go forwards. If I could go back, I would take a second vaccine.”
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She says Ellie was so ill with measles she feared that she wasn’t going to survive it.
Ellie says people need to realise how serious it can be.
“Measles itself in comparison to going through COVID, it was a very tough virus to go through,” she said.
“If I was having children, I would vaccinate them because it is a dreadful illness.”
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
