Pharmacies have been used to communicate the importance of vaccination amid a measles outbreak in north London, Enfield Council has said.
At a London Assembly Health Committee hearing on March 9, director of public health for Enfield Dudu Sher-Arami said the council has used pharmacies and other locations in the community to signpost families to the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccination.
Sher-Arami told the committee a letter had been sent to residents with pupils in Enfield schools to “advise them about signs, symptoms and that vaccination was the most effective way of preventing measles”.
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The letter also informed them “about how to be vaccinated if they were missing those vaccinations,” she added.
She noted that the council had done a “significant amount of communication through various channels” with “a wide representation of many different faith communities” living in the borough - including pharmacies, dentists, leisure centres and family hubs.
“We’re looking for all of the various points at which families may operate within the borough,” she said, “and we’re looking to communicate with them through that”.
“Keeping a very close eye”
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) consultant in health protection Nalini Iyanger also told the committee that there have been “127 confirmed cases” of measles in London since the start of January.
She said that 71 of these cases were reported in Enfield, and added that the situation is “under close monitoring”.
“We feel it’s stabilising, but of course we’re keeping a very, very close eye on it, and on the response that we’ve put in place,” she added.
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The committee also heard from Iyanger that as long as there are “unvaccinated children in the population” there “is the potential for the outbreak to grow”.
“It’s incredibly difficult for me to sit here and tell you where the outbreak might go,” she said. “We are seeing signs of stabilising, but we’re not at all being complacent about it.”
“We’re doing everything we can to control it, but I couldn’t say that the numbers wouldn’t go up.”
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It comes after the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) last month called for the expansion of community pharmacy vaccine services following news of the north London measles outbreak.
NPA chair Olivier Picard said at the time that “we need to work across the whole health service to perform this vital public health role, not leave it to just one small part of it”.
