‘A lot of vaccine hesitancy’: how north London council is responding to measles outbreak
For people living and working in Enfield, the current measles outbreak is a shock – but not a surprise,The borough has struggled with low vaccine uptake for years, fighting against vaccine hesitancy, online misinformation and health inequalities,Working closely with communities to persuade them to come forward for vaccinations is an “ongoing public health challenge”, which Enfield – like many boroughs – is grappling with, said Enfield council’s director of public health, Dudu Sher-Arami,“This has not come as a surprise to us,We’ve been trying to work to increase vaccination uptake for many years.
And so we do reach into various communities,” she said, citing Edmonton, the focal point of the measles outbreak,Similar to other areas with low vaccine uptake, Edmonton has high levels of deprivation,“We can all understand that if people are in a position where they have three jobs, low income, insecure housing, then vaccination is not going to be on the top of their to do list,” said Sher-Arami, adding that the “churn of the population” was another factor,The most effective interventions were school-based immunisation programmes, though “having faith leaders and community leaders on board with accurate positive information also works”, she said,At present, Enfield was “working very hard” scouring its database to find children who had missed one of their jabs and calling up their parents, said Sher-Arami.
A special vaccination clinic has been set up in the school with the most cases, along with increased capacity across the borough, including additional slots at GP surgeries.She added that it could be a challenge to persuade people to come.“In the UK, there’s a huge amount of misinformation about vaccination.Over many years there’s been a bit of a reduction in trust of scientific information, the NHS, certainly local authorities, our state bodies, with regard to vaccination.”Sher-Arami said the borough has tried many different approaches to get into hard-to-reach communities, and evaluates which are having an impact.
“It’s clear we can’t just continue doing the same thing,” she said, noting that she is hoping that an upcoming government-funded pilot project to look into opportunities for health visitors to provide vaccination will improve the situation.Philippa Vincent, a GP at Carlton House Surgery, which was running the vaccine catchup clinic in Enfield on Monday, had seen figures showing that one in four measles cases in the borough had been hospitalised, and that the cases were all among children who have not been vaccinated.Following the news reports at the weekend, the clinic has started to see an increase in demand for the vaccine, including among adults, though numbers remained low.The surgery is not permitting any child who is not vaccinated and has possible symptoms to be in the waiting room.She has seen “a lot of vaccine hesitancy” in the community, exacerbated by Covid.
“I don’t think it’s about the autism stuff any more,” she said,Instead, people are “genuinely afraid about the contents of vaccines”, and “believe the nonsense put out there by non-scientific pressure groups” on social media,Parents who spoke to the Guardian outside Carlton House Surgery said they had been contacted about measles by their children’s nurseries and primary schools,One parent said he had asked the doctor if his preschool children could have their third jab expedited due to the outbreak,“They said ‘no, don’t worry about it’, wait until they’re three years.
”Another parent, Pan, said: “My children are both vaccinated so I’m not too concerned about my kids, we’ve done the right thing.I’m just thinking why the uptake is so low to be honest.Our group we mix with are all pro-vaccines.”Prof Azeem Majeed, the head of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, said the makeup of the local population was most likely to affect vaccine uptake, and that all the main factors were present in Enfield, including the prevalence of people from ethnic minorities who also had lower levels of education, deprivation, and how often residents moved between different addresses and countries.All these factors intersect with online misinformation and distrust of local authorities.
He added: “Certain communities have distrust of authority because of bad experiences with councils, in health, education, welfare or housing,”He noted that vaccine uptake has been steadily falling since 2012, which he linked to overstretched GP surgeries having less time to spend on preventive work, along with the rise of social media misinformation,However, he noted that media coverage of outbreaks drives more people to come forward for vaccination,“I wouldn’t expect vast numbers of cases,” he said, while noting that official numbers were “likely underestimates”,Ronny Cheung, of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said solutions included expanding who can deliver vaccines, such as the “really promising” health visitor pilots, as well as engaging local communities through targeted messaging and trusted voices – which at present is too “patchy” despite its effectiveness.
He has found that many people have struggled to access appointments, and have not been given the information needed to prioritise them, something he felt health professionals needed more training to address,“Most conversations I have with parents who are labelled as vaccine hesitant actually are very positive and at the end of it, are happy to go get the vaccines,It’s not the deep-seated scepticism people think of,” he said,
UK shelves £110m frictionless post-Brexit trade border project
The UK government has shelved a project to simplify trade border processes post-Brexit after spending £110m on a contract with Deloitte and IBM for it, according to reports.The last Conservative government promised in 2020 to create the “world’s most effective border” by 2025 as part of its plan for a new trade system after Britain left the EU.The government hoped a “single trade window” (STW) would simplify border processes by creating a single digital platform in which importers and exporters could upload all documentation linked to goods before they are transported. However, the STW project was paused in 2024 amid concerns over costs.Government responses to freedom of information requests submitted by the thinktank TaxWatch, seen by the Financial Times, now suggest no money has been spent on the project since January last year, with the Treasury writing that the programme had been “brought to an early closure”
Hyatt chair Thomas Pritzker steps down over Epstein links
The billionaire Thomas Pritzker has stepped down as executive chair of the hotel chain Hyatt, after revelations over his ties with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Pritzker said he had exercised “terrible judgment” in maintaining contact with the sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in recruiting and grooming underage girls.Files released by the US Department of Justice showed that Pritzker, 75, was in regular contact with Epstein after his 2008 plea deal for procuring a minor for prostitution.Pritzker, who had been executive chair of the hotel chain since 2004, said he had decided to step down after discussions with the board and would not stand for re-election.He said in a release from his family office, the Pritzker Organisation: “My job and responsibility is to provide good stewardship … Good stewardship includes ensuring a proper transition at Hyatt
Google puts users at risk by downplaying health disclaimers under AI Overviews
Google is putting people at risk of harm by downplaying safety warnings that its AI-generated medical advice may be wrong.When answering queries about sensitive topics such as health, the company says its AI Overviews, which appear above search results, prompt users to seek professional help, rather than relying solely on its summaries. “AI Overviews will inform people when it’s important to seek out expert advice or to verify the information presented,” Google has said.But the Guardian found the company does not include any such disclaimers when users are first presented with medical advice.Google only issues a warning if users choose to request additional health information and click on a button called “Show more”
Starmer to extend online safety rules to AI chatbots after Grok scandal
Makers of AI chatbots that put children at risk will face massive fines or even see their services blocked in the UK under law changes to be announced by Keir Starmer on Monday.Emboldened by Elon Musk’s X stopping its Grok AI tool from creating sexualised images of real people in the UK after public outrage last month, ministers are planning a “crackdown on vile illegal content created by AI”.With more and more children using chatbots for everything from help with their homework to mental health support, the government said it would “move fast to shut a legal loophole and force all AI chatbot providers to abide by illegal content duties in the Online Safety Act or face the consequences of breaking the law”.Starmer is also planning to accelerate new restrictions on social media use by children if they are agreed by MPs after a public consultation into a possible under-16 ban. It means that any changes to children’s use of social media, which may include other measures such as restricting infinite scrolling, could happen as soon as this summer
‘I’m trying to expand what it means to be a skier’: Mallory Duncan on jazz, freedom and the mountains
The Californian once had ambitions of winning gold at the Winter Olympics. But now he is more interested in what skiing can do for the soulGrowing up in the Hayward Hills, just south of Oakland, California, Mallory Duncan lived a hybrid lifestyle throughout his childhood. Weekdays were spent at school, avoiding homework, disrupting class and getting in trouble. Weekends at Alpine Meadows, a ski resort on the north-west shores of Lake Tahoe, were for jumping off cliffs and skiing powder with friends. Every Sunday he would have dinner at his grandad’s house, watch football and listen to jazz
The Breakdown | France’s creative heart ‘Jalipont’ can easily join rugby’s great double-acts
The greatest double acts roll off the tongue. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Morecambe and Wise, Lennon and McCartney. It’s the same in sport: Lillee and Thomson, Torvill and Dean, Redgrave and Pinsent. After a while their individual talents complement each other so perfectly it becomes hard to mention one without the other.Which is what is now happening on the rugby fields of Europe
‘A lot of vaccine hesitancy’: how north London council is responding to measles outbreak
‘The whole family is destroyed’: Australia’s inheritance disputes aren’t just increasing – they’re becoming messier
Families bid to take over their children’s care home that amassed huge tax debts
A new diagnosis of ‘profound autism’ is under consideration. Here’s what parents need to know
Revealed: The true toll of female suicides with domestic abuse at their core
Fast-spreading measles outbreak takes hold among under-10s in north London