Plea on jabs as measles cases in London borough triple

A COUNCIL has written to parents urging them to ensure children receive the MMR vaccine after measles cases in the borough more than tripled last year.

Figures from Westminster city council in London showed just 60 per cent of children in the area had their two MMR immunisations by the age of five.

The council recorded 991 cases of measles last year, up 284 in 2017, and councillors said it was “lucky” the situation was not worse.

Health officials have written their “toughest” letter ever to every family urging them to make sure their children are immunised.

The trend mirrors that seen across the country, with 600,000 children missing the jabs between 2010 and 2018, according to a Unicef report released yesterday.

Cllr Heather Acton, the cabinet member for public health, said: “We are lucky that the situation isn’t worse in the city, given Westminster falls below

‘The effects [of measles] can be devastating, so we want to make sure parents are aware of the dangers’

the levels required to be effective against outbreaks.

“Measles is a very unpleasant disease and the effects can be devastating, so we want to make sure parents are aware of the dangers.”

In May, Public Health England wrote to head teachers in Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Kensington and Chelsea, warning them to be vigilant for the highly contagious infection.

There have been outbreaks in the Home Counties, Manchester and Cornwall this year.

In west London, 34 cases were recorded in April and May, while hundreds were reported in Hackney and Haringey last year.

NHS figures show MMR take-up has slumped in upmarket areas such as Kensington and Chelsea, where just 63 per cent of children have the jab, and Surrey, where the rate is 77 per cent.

Public health experts said social media was helping to spread “misleading and dangerous information” about vaccines.