Anti-vax ‘superstition’ blamed for UK’s loss of measles-free status

PM says vaccines are ‘right thing for the whole population’

Complacent parents and a misguided belief in “superstitious mumbo jumbo” about the supposed risks of vaccines have contributed to the UK losing its measles-free status, says Boris Johnson.

The prime minister has ordered urgent action to boost the number of children and young people receiving vaccinations following a rise in cases of measles.

There were 231 confirmed cases in the UK during the first quarter of 2019, and Britain has lost its measles-free status with the World Health Organisation (WHO) three years after the virus was eliminated in the country.

Mr Johnson set out the plans to improve vaccination rates – including for the measles, mumps and rubella jab (MMR) – on a visit to a hospital in Cornwall. He asked health chiefs to renew their efforts to ensure 95% of the population have both doses of the MMR vaccine.

Currently, only 87.2% of children have the second dose of the jab, down from a high of 88.6% in 2014-15, the lower uptake of which is thought to be partly behind the spread of measles, Downing Street said.

Speaking in Truro, Mr Johnson said: “I think there’s complacency on the part of parents about the need to get that second vaccine but also, I’m afraid, people have been listening to that superstitious mumbo jumbo on the internet – all that anti-vax stuff and thinking that the MMR vaccine is a bad idea. That’s wrong.

“Please get your kids vaccinated because it’s not just the right thing for them, but also of course it is the right thing for the whole population because it might not be your kid that gets it, it could be somebody else’s.”

Mr Johnson’s comments came as Public Health England warned that one in seven five-year-olds may not be fully up to date with routine immunisations;

Labour said the loss of the UK’s measles-free status was a “shocking indictment”, blaming Tory cuts to public health budgets.

As part of the fresh effort, NHS England will write to all GPs, urging them to promote “catch-up” vaccination programmes, and will seek to strengthen the role of local immunisation co-ordinators in a bid to improve uptake.

“It might not be your kid that gets it. It could be somebody else’s. BORIS JOHNSON

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged health chiefs to address a resurgence in measles.