​Parents are urged to ensure that children are up to date with their routine vaccination to protect them against infectious diseases such as measles and rubella.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases's (NICD) measles and rubella surveillance and outbreaks update from week 1 – 13 of 2025, released early April, 103 cases of measles were reported in the country with the majority of laboratory-confirmed cases reported in Gauteng. Forty of these cased were in Johannesburg, and 19 in Tshwane. The rubella surveillance update reported a total of 238 cases across the country with the majority of cases being in the North West province.
It is important that parents, guardians and caregivers ensure that children are immunised with the measles and rubella (MR) vaccine to protect them from severe illness caused by measles and rubella virus infection. Children that are not vaccinated are at risk of severe illness including pneumonia, encephalitis, blindness, deafness, or even death.
Parents should be wary of signs and symptoms of measles which includes high fever, cough, runny nose, red watery eyes, and rash which develops on 3 – 5 days after symptoms onset. Common symptoms of rubella include rash, fever, headache, sore throat, cough, swollen lymph nodes on the neck, runny nose, and nausea. Symptoms typically develop 2 – 3 weeks after exposure. 
The MR vaccine can be accessed at no cost at primary health facilities including clinics and community health centres. Children should get this life-saving vaccination at six (6) months old and receive a booster dose at 12 months/1-year-old. 
The Gauteng Department of Health will during the African Vaccination Week, 24 – 30 April 2025 intensify the promotion of the life-saving power of immunisation to protect people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases. The theme for this year's African Vaccination Week is "Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible". 
The Department will support poorly performing districts to look for those children that missed their childhood vaccines and ensure that there is mass vaccination and side vaccination activities taking place across health facilities, early childhood development centres and in the outreach points including the mobile clinics.
The main outreach programme will take place in Protea South in Johannesburg, targeting children under the age of 5 years on 25 April 2025. The programme will not be limited to children alone, as the the Department will provide catch-up immunisation, influenza vaccination, HPV vaccination and render other health services.