Multi-language measles campaign launched
Areas with a low uptake of the MMR vaccine, such as London and the West Midlands, are a focus of health campaigns
- Published
A north-west London council is rolling out an information campaign in various languages to encourage take-up of the measles vaccine.
London has the lowest percentage of children who have received both doses, at 74% - the UK average is 85%, the UK Health Security Agency said.
Brent Council hopes to target communities not reached by mainstream health messaging.
One of the videos that is part of the campaign was created by a community group established by British-Somali mothers.
Rhoda Ibrahim has created a video targeting British-Somali mothers in Brent
Rhoda Ibrahim, from the Somali Advice and Forum of Information, told BBC Politics London: "It's always the elderly men and women that don't speak English and it's also the mums.
"About 80% of the mums don't speak English and they're the ones who are responsible for the children's vaccinations, schools and all these things."
Millions of parents in England are being contacted by the NHS and urged to make an appointment to have their children vaccinated against measles, as cases rise across the country.
More than 3.4 million children aged under 16 are unprotected, NHS England said.
Dr Tehseen Khan, a vaccinations adviser for NHS London, said: "The target rate of vaccination among children aged under 16 to prevent measles outbreaks is 95%.
"We are worried that it's going to come to the capital and when it does it will affect hundreds and possibly thousands of children."
Hackney mum Thuy Mai told BBC London that low vaccination rates concern her
Neil Nerva, cabinet member for public health at Brent Council, said a measles vaccination centre was replacing one previously offering Covid jabs.
"It isn't just about what we do in a civic centre, it's about all of the outreach work we do outside Brent Civic Centre," he said.
"This is a really serious issue. We learnt from Covid what happens when things go wrong - we've still got a chance to get it right."