Boris Johnson orders urgent action to boost vaccination rates after UK loses its measles free status

The British prime minister is demanding urgent action to improve the UK’s declining vaccination rates.

A steady fall in the uptake of the MMR jab means the UK has now lost its measles free status, just three years after the virus was eliminated. The drop in vaccination rates is thought to be partly to blame for the recent spread of measles in the UK.

Currently, only 87.2% of children have the second dose of the vaccine.

Boris Johnson wants that figure increased to 95% and is setting out action for health leaders. Johnson said “decisive action” was needed to ensure communities were properly immunised.

“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 disease in modern-day Britain.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who recently said he wouldn’t rule out considering compulsory vaccination, added: “It’s easy to forget how devastating measles can be precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing it in the first place.

Via Sky News