Why Britain must eradicate measles… again

The World Health Organization has issued a warning after more than 30,000 cases of measles were reported in Europe between January and October in 2023, compared to just 941 cases in all of 2022.

In Britain, there have been outbreaks in London and parts of the West Midlands. A new NHS campaign has been launched in Britain to encourage people who are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated – two doses of MMR are recommended – to get their shots.

Science correspondent for The Guardian Nicholas Davis tells Hannah Moore about how serious measles can be, why we need herd immunity to protect the most vulnerable, and what it will take to increase vaccine uptake.



Photo: _jure/Getty Images

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