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Image source, fake images
Areas with low uptake of the MMR vaccine, such as London and the West Midlands, are the focus of health campaigns.
A north-west London council is launching an information campaign in multiple languages to encourage uptake of the measles vaccine.
London has the lowest percentage of children who have received both doses, 74%; the UK average is 85%, the UK Health Security Agency said.
Brent Council hopes to target communities not reached by conventional health messages.
One of the videos part of the campaign was created by a community group set up by British-Somali mothers.
Rhoda Ibrahim has created a video aimed at British-Somali mothers in Brent
Rhoda Ibrahim, of the Somali Information and Advice Forum, told BBC Politics London: “It’s always the older men and women who don’t speak English and it’s also the mothers.
“Approximately 80% of mothers do not speak English and they are responsible for children’s vaccinations, schools and all that.”
The NHS is contacting millions of parents in England and urging them to make an appointment to have their children vaccinated against measles, as cases rise across the country.
More than 3.4 million children under 16 are unprotected, according to the National Health Service in England.
Dr Tehseen Khan, NHS London vaccination adviser, said: “The target vaccination rate among children under 16 to prevent measles outbreaks is 95%.
“We are concerned that it will reach the capital and that, when it does, it will affect hundreds and possibly thousands of children.”
Hackney mother Thuy Mai told BBC London that low vaccination rates worry her
Neil Nerva, Brent Council’s cabinet member for public health, said a measles vaccination center was replacing one that previously offered Covid jabs.
“It’s not just about what we do in a civic center, but all the outreach work we do outside of the Brent Civic Center,” he said.
“This is a really serious problem. We learned from Covid what happens when things go wrong; we still have a chance to get it right.”