OH NO

U.K. Loses Its ‘Measles-Free’ Status

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on Britain’s health leaders to urge people to get their vaccines.

After the U.K. saw 231 confirmed cases of measles in 2019, the country has lost its “measles-free” status given by the World Health Organization. Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to combat the uptick in measles cases and called on Britain’s health leaders to urge people to get their vaccines. “From reassuring parents about the safety of vaccines, to making sure people are attending follow-up appointments, we can and must do more to halt the spread of infectious, treatable diseases in modern-day Britain,” said Johnson. NHS England, the country’s government-run healthcare provider, will send all its general practitioners letters telling them to promote vaccination programs to their patients. Plans are being made to update the NHS website with articles addressing misinformation about vaccines and the government is working to ensure that there is not a post-Brexit vaccine shortage. According to one UNICEF study, just 87.2 percent of children receive the second dose of the MMR vaccine. The second dose makes the vaccine more effective.