The measles virus continues to spread in England, with a surge in cases in London and ongoing outbreaks in the West Midlands. More than 70 confirmed cases have been recorded in London in the last month, out of nearly 200 in England. Since October 2023, over 1,450 cases have been confirmed across the country, which is already double the total reported in all of 2022. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious complications and even be fatal. Pregnant women who catch the disease can have devastating complications like premature birth and stillbirth.
Vaccines offer good protection against measles, but vaccine coverage in the U.K. has fallen in recent years. The covid-19 pandemic has also interrupted some children’s normal vaccination schedules. The World Health Organization recommends countries give two vaccine doses to 95% of their population before the age of five. However, coverage in the U.K. has dropped to around 90% for the first shot and 85% for the second. Only five years ago, the country had measles “elimination” status from the WHO. Low vaccine coverage may partly reflect the past success of the vaccines, and there may still be hesitancy over the measles vaccine due to a baseless scare over autism.
A baseless scare over autism may still be fueling hesitancy over the measles vaccine, stemming from a 1998 fraudulent paper by British former doctor Andrew Wakefield falsely linking combined measles, mumps, and rubella shots to the developmental condition. Despite debunking and retraction of the paper, Wakefield continues to be active in the anti-vaccine community. Great Ormond Street Hospital community pediatrician David Ellimen warned against blaming measles outbreaks on “so-called anti-vaxers” and emphasized the importance of parents knowing how and why to get their kids vaccinated. MMR shots are delivered as part of standard childhood immunizations in the U.K., but can be given at any age.
In an effort to limit the spread of the disease, more than 1 million young people in the U.K. were invited to get free “catch up” vaccine doses in March. At that time, at least 733 cases had been recorded in England since October 2023. The number has since doubled to 1,458. The mother of an infant recently hospitalized with measles has urged the public to get vaccinated. Georgia House’s six-month-old daughter, Margot, was too young to be vaccinated before she caught the disease, which left her struggling to breathe and eat. House emphasized the importance of vaccination, as those who cannot be vaccinated are at the highest risk of contracting the disease. It is crucial that everyone, especially parents, take measures to protect themselves and their children from measles.
