THOUSANDS of young people in the region are being contacted to see if they want a free MMR jab to protect against measles, mumps and rubella.NHS Yarmouth and Waveney is writing to the parents of about 5,000 children under the age of 18 who missed out on having a childhood MMR vaccination.

THOUSANDS of young people in the region are being contacted to see if they want a free MMR jab to protect against measles, mumps and rubella.

NHS Yarmouth and Waveney is writing to the parents of about 5,000 children under the age of 18 who missed out on having a childhood MMR vaccination.

Dr Alistair Lipp, director of public health, said: "A worrying number of youngsters have not yet had the vaccination and we hope to address this through our catch-up campaign.

"Mumps, rubella and measles are very unpleasant diseases and can be potentially very dangerous."