Schools in London could stop unvaccinated children attending during measles outbreak

Health officials in London are discussing whether or not to bar unvaccinated children from coming to school during the measles outbreak.

An outbreak of the highly contagious disease was first reported in Enfield this February, with more than 60 cases across seven schools and a nursery in the London borough.

Measles is a highly contagious, serious airborne disease caused by a virus that can lead to severe complications and death.

Most people recover, and getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent becoming sick or spreading the disease.

To combat the disease, Emma Best, health committee lead of the London Assembly, is convening a meeting today.

She warned that although the focus of the outbreak is in London, the ‘whole of the UK’ should be watching.

‘The first thing to say about measles is the level of contagion. It can appear as a cold or a runny nose at first, so parents can still send their children to school with it, but it has spread very quickly,’ she told the Mirror.

‘We think it’s alien that people can die from measles, but over 100,000 people a year die from it globally. For many people, it is a mild infection like the common cold, but for some people, it will be fatal.’

Only half of children in some parts of London have had the life-saving measles, mumps and rubella vaccine – and vaccination rates are continuing to plummet.

Professor Devi Sridhar, Personal Chair of Global Public Health, said: ‘A major factor is logistical challenges for parents. Many children were born during the COVID period, when routine vaccination programmes were disrupted.

‘Even now, where rates have improved, that hasoften been due to practical measures such as mobile vaccination clinics and giving parents more flexibility to attend appointments.

‘It’s less about parents actively refusing vaccines and more about the realities of work, childcare, and everyday pressures.’

Measles can be prevented through vaccination, which is available as part of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Varicella (MMRV) injection.

However, Enfield is said to have one of the lowest uptake rates for the two-shot vaccine in the country, which is why it’s the centre of the outbreak.

Temporary vaccination clinics have been held in schools throughout the borough to try to reverse the trend.

After last month’s outbreak, Enfield Council said it was ‘working closely with the UK Health Security Agency, the NHS and local partners to respond to a confirmed outbreak of measles in the borough’.

Last month, the World Health Organisation declared the UK is no longer considered to have eliminated measles.

According to UK Health Security Agency figures, 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in 2024-25.

This is the lowest level since 2010-2011.

WHO recommends that at least 95% of children receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity.

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