Britain loses measles-free status again

The UK has officially lost its measles-free status. This means that this highly contagious disease has been circulating continuously in the region for at least a year.

The UK has gained, lost and regained measles-free status over the past decade, according to an update posted by the UK Health and Safety Agency (UKHSA) on 26 January. The disease was eradicated in 2016 but experienced a resurgence in 2018, as well as in other parts of Europe. It then regained eradication status in 2021. At this time, measles rates also decreased due to precautions taken to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

However, several years later, measles rates have rebounded in the country, and the UK is now officially reestablished, based on 2024 data submitted to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Ben Kastan-Dabush, assistant professor of global health and development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, called the news “unsurprising.”

“Sustained measles transmission reflects a decade of declining routine vaccination coverage and the UK’s continued failure to meet the WHO-recommended threshold of 95% measles vaccination coverage,” Castain-Dabush said in a statement. “Coverage is extremely low in areas such as Hackney. [in East London] This highlights that risks and harms to children are unequally distributed. ”

Measles is highly contagious, and to prevent the spread of the disease most people must have immunity, either through vaccination or previous infection. The measles vaccine is given in two doses and is approximately 97% effective in preventing measles once given. To achieve herd immunity through vaccination, WHO says 95% of the population needs to receive two doses of the vaccine.

Although vaccination is not compulsory in the UK, measles vaccination is recommended as part of the National Health Service’s National Immunization Programme. Previously, young children were given the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, with the first dose given at 1 year of age and the second dose at 3 years of age. As of 2026, the MMRV vaccine is recommended for additional protection against chickenpox (varicella) for young children and can be given at 12 and 18 months of age. The MMR vaccine will continue to be given to children born before 2019 and adults who have not yet completed both doses.

In 2024, the UK reported vaccination coverage of 92.3% for the first MMR vaccination and 84.4% for the second, which was broadly in line with the coverage reported in 2023. In recent years, 2016 had the highest vaccination rate, with 95.3% for the first dose and 88.2% for the second dose. Coverage has steadily declined since then.

“As history teaches us, eradication can only be achieved and sustained by increasing MMRV vaccination coverage in children to meet the WHO’s 95% target, and by taking every opportunity to recapture older children and adults who missed out when they were younger,” the UKHSA statement said.

Data for 2024 shows that more countries in the WHO European Region have lost measles elimination status, including Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, Canada will lose measles elimination status in November 2025, and the United States could lose its status at any moment. In the United States, health officials are currently investigating whether various outbreaks across the country are related. The country would lose its measles-free status if the same strain was found to be circulating for a year.

Experts say prominent anti-vaxxers, such as Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are contributing to the U.S.’s decline in vaccination rates and skyrocketing measles rates. But in mid-January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s principal deputy director dismissed the issue, saying he did not consider the loss of U.S. status to be a significant event.