Measles Books Summer Holiday, Skips Vaccination Check
Measles continues to spread in England as summer travel starts. The virus has again declined to recognise that everyone is busy comparing hotel breakfast photos.
UKHSA logged 109 cases in April. It logged another 86 by late May. Most cases affected unvaccinated children aged ten or under. Families have therefore revived the ancient British tradition of assuming somebody else sorted the paperwork.
Officials say holidays and family visits could bring another surge. Consequently, parents should check vaccination records. They can do this before locating the inflatable armband with a slow leak.
Holiday planning now includes disease prevention
Two MMR doses give about 99 per cent protection. Yet many households favour a more spiritual process. A family finds an old red book, stares at it for twelve seconds and decides it feels reassuring.
“People treat vaccination records like the cutlery drawer,” said Mavis Clipboard, chair of the Association of Things Definitely Somewhere. “Everyone knows it exists. Someone saw it recently. A question will cause distress.”
Meanwhile, GP practices offer catch up vaccination at any age. That makes a calmer form of travel preparation. It beats discovering illness two days before departure. By then the family has packed fourteen sun hats. It has also declared the airport breakfast a cultural necessity.
Measles spreads easily. It can cause serious illness. However, one belief helps it along. An absent record becomes the same as a completed vaccine when everyone says “surely” with enough confidence.
Finally, families should check their status before travelling. One father found both vaccine dates, three expired passports and the charger he had been accused of stealing in 2019. The measles outbreak was less pleased, having booked the week off.
Read the real story: UKHSA’s update on measles cases and summer travel
