- 'Impossible': Alcaraz shoots down Federer comparisons after Laver Cup win
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote
- Verstappen says 'silly' swearing row could hasten F1 exit
- Calls for Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the abyss
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid 'catastrophe'
- Colombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
- Pressure piles on new French government from day one
- Arteta proud as Arsenal salvage point from 'impossible' task
- Barca rout Villarreal in thriller but Ter Stegen hurt
- Roma stroll past Udinese as fans protest De Rossi sacking
- Horschel outduels McIlroy to win PGA Championship play-off
- Audiences summon 'Beetlejuice' to top of N. America box office for third week
- Stones salvages point for Man City against 10-man Arsenal
- Egypt fears 'all out' regional war: foreign minister to AFP
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory, Stuttgart outclass Dortmund
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote: projections
- Olympic champion Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Horschel's eagle beats McIlroy in PGA Championship play-off
- Mourners at commander's funeral express loyalty to Hezbollah
- Norris hails his 'mega' McLaren after dominant win at Singapore
- Monaco beat Le Havre to join PSG at the top of Ligue 1
- Scholz's party narrowly leads far-right AfD in east German state vote: exit polls
- New leftist president vows to 'rewrite Sri Lankan history'
- UN adopts pact to tackle volatile future for mankind
- Leclerc hails Ferrari fightback from torrid Singapore GP qualifying
- Belgian Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Sosa rescues point for Forest against Brighton
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory over Wolfsburg in seven-goal thriller
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: official results
- No fairytale ending for Ricciardo after 13 years in Formula One
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to step back from the brink
- What is the UN's 'Pact for the Future'?
- Norris dominates Singapore Grand Prix to cut Verstappen's title lead
- From bullets to ballots: Sri Lanka's comrade president-elect
- McLaren's Lando Norris wins Singapore GP to narrow F1 title race
- UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity
- Military escalation not in Israel's 'best interest': White House
- Marxist leader declared Sri Lanka's president-elect
- Classes resume at Bangladesh university at heart of protests
- 'Barely anyone left': Sudan's El-Fasher devastated by fighting
- 'Warrior' Joshua vows to fight on despite Dubois mauling
- Martin extends MotoGP lead as Bastianini wins at Misano and Bagnaia crashes out
- New French government instantly under pressure on multiple fronts
- Australia's Brown adds world title to Olympic time trial gold
- Russian strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv wounds 21
- UK's Starmer rules out austerity as Labour conference opens
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: projected results
- Israel says 'landed blows' on Hezbollah as Lebanon violence intensifies
- Roma CEO steps down amid anger over club icon De Rossi's sacking
- Incoming French government under pressure on multiple fronts
UK health chief urges measles jabs to avoid spread
The UK's public health protection agency on Friday sounded a "national call to action" for more measles jabs for children because of falling vaccination rates and fears the virus could spread.
Jenny Harries, head of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), warned that measles was spreading among unvaccinated communities.
People had "forgotten what measles is like", Harries told BBC radio, adding that it could cause even death in rare cases.
She said the UK had previously achieved "measles elimination status" but now the number of children starting school having had both doses of the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) stood at only 85 percent.
In some areas of the central West Midlands region of England the percentage vaccinated had dropped to 81 percent, she said.
Figures released by the UKHSA showed there were 198 laboratory-confirmed cases and 104 "likely" cases between October 23, 2023 and January 15 in the West Midlands.
Of those, 80 percent were found in the city of Birmingham.
Asked which communities were less likely to take up vaccinations, Harries said that "for the West Midlands, for those in Muslim communities, they will be not keen to take up one of the MMR vaccines that we offer which has a pork-based derivative".
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 83 percent of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday through routine health services –- the lowest since 2008.
In 2021 there were an estimated 128,000 measles deaths worldwide, mostly among under-vaccinated or unvaccinated children under the age of five.
M.Fischer--AMWN