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The government will on Thursday launch a drive to boost childhood vaccination rates, health authorities said, seeking an "urgent reversal" to a fall in uptake as the country faces a worsening measles outbreak. Routine childhood immunisations in Britain for diseases including measles, mumps and rubella, diphtheria and polio, have been falling gradually over the past decade, but dipped more sharply after the Covid-19 pandemic, mirroring a global decline. Last year UNICEF said people worldwide had lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines during the pandemic, with misinformation, dwindling trust in governments and political polarisation contributing to rising hesitancy. Britons will begin seeing adverts from next week across various media, including a television campaign featuring children reminding parents of the risk of missing out on vaccinations, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. "We need an urgent reversal of the decline in the uptake of childhood vaccinations to protect our communities," UKHSA chief executive Jenny Harries said in a statement.

New data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has revealed that London is potentially at risk of a measles resurgence. UKHSA modelling suggests that, unless MMR vaccination rates improve, London could see a measles outbreak with tens of thousands of cases. "Those who have never received a measles vaccine (MMR) are at risk," said UKHSA. MMR is part of the NHS Routine Childhood Immunisation Programme. Parents whose infants missed out, or anyone of any age unvaccinated, are urged to come forward. Susceptibility is particularly high among 19 to 25 year olds, affected by unfounded stories in the early 2000s ('Wakefield cohorts') and some may still not be fully vaccinated. As part of continued efforts to protect people against getting measles, the NHS is launching a campaign encouraging people to check their vaccination status, with targeted outreach to groups in London.

The UK Health Security Agency's (UKHSA) Chief Executive, Professor Dame Jenny Harries has expressed concern that measles outbreak could spread to other towns and cities unless urgent action is taken to increase Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination uptake in areas at greatest risk. The virus can spread very easily among those who are unvaccinated, especially in nurseries and schools, she said on Friday (19 January) during a visit to irmingham to review the ongoing work to contain the spread of the disease. A rapid rise in cases has been seen in the West Midlands since 1 October 2023, with 216 confirmed cases and 103 probable cases recorded till 18 January. The majority of the cases (around 80 per cent) were reported from Birmingham, with about 10 per cent in Coventry, mostly affecting children aged under 10 years. Dame Jenny is calling on all local areas to increase MMR vaccine uptake rates in communities across the country.