Amid measles outbreaks, U.K. launches vaccination ad campaign to boost childhood immunizations ( www.statnews.com )

Facing a growing outbreak of measles, the U.K. on Thursday unveiled an advertising campaign aimed at boosting vaccination rates in children, which have steadily fallen over the past decade and took an even greater dip during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign, starting March 4, features children talking about their lack of protection from infections like measles and whooping cough if they’re not vaccinated. The ads, which tell parents to contact their general practitioners if they’ve missed getting their kids immunized, are designed to capture parents’ desires to keep kids safe.

Since October, England has seen more than 600 measles cases, officials at the U.K. Health Security Agency said as they previewed the campaign for reporters Wednesday. Most of the cases have been in children under 5 years old.