London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

All children aged one to nine in London to be offered polio vaccine booster

All children aged one to nine in London to be offered polio vaccine booster

Public health officials hoping to curb spread after polioviruses found in sewage samples across capital
All children aged one to nine in London should receive a polio vaccination in the coming weeks, public health experts have said as a new booster programme is announced.

The UK Health Security Agency said that, since early February, 116 polioviruses had been identified in 19 sewage samples from boroughs in north-east and central London including Barnet, Camden, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

Experts say it is unclear how many people may have been infected but that, to date, no cases of polio – or related paralysis – have been reported.

With signs of community transmission of the virus, public health officials are hoping to curb its spread, and strengthen protection against paralysis, by ensuring all young children receive a polio vaccine in the next four to six weeks.

The newly announced booster programme for children aged one to nine, recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), is set to run alongside a previously announced polio vaccine catchup campaign, and will begin in boroughs of London where poliovirus has been detected and vaccination rates are low.

Parents and carers are advised that the programme will be offered via GPs, and that they will be contacted when it is their child’s turn to receive a vaccination.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said that for the majority of the population who are fully vaccinated against polio the risk was low.

“But we know the areas in London where the poliovirus is being transmitted have some of the lowest vaccination rates. This is why the virus is spreading in these communities and puts those residents not fully vaccinated at greater risk,” she said.

Saliba added that while polio was a serious infection that could cause paralysis, as a result of vaccinations the last case in the UK was in 1984.

“It is vital parents ensure their children are fully vaccinated for their age. Following JCVI advice, all children aged one to nine years in London need to have a dose of polio vaccine now – whether it’s an extra booster dose or just to catch up with their routine vaccinations. It will ensure a high level of protection from paralysis. This may also help stop the virus spreading further,” she said.

While a small number of polioviruses are detected in sewage in the UK each year, the large number detected over recent months is unusual, and appears to reflect transmission of the virus in the community.

Public health experts said it appeared such transmission was asymptomatic, and was likely to have been caused by an individual recently vaccinated with live oral polio vaccine (OPV) entering the UK. OPV generates excellent gut immunity against polio; however, people who have been recently vaccinated can shed vaccine-like virus in their faeces.

While this weakened form of the virus does not cause illness, the concern is that if it circulates it can gain mutations that increase its virulence, resulting in vaccine-derived poliovirus – which has the potential, albeit rare, to cause paralysis in those who are unvaccinated.

The UKHSA said that while most of the isolates from London sewage had so far involved vaccine-like poliovirus, some contain vaccine-derived poliovirus.

The UK switched from using OPV to an inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) in 2004. While IPV is very effective in preventing polio disease, it does not produce as good gut immunity as OPV, meaning it is possible fully vaccinated individuals could have an asymptomatic infection.

While public health officials believe that, combined with good hygiene, the IPV vaccine will be able to interrupt transmission, the Guardian understands that if this is not successful the use of OPV, which is not approved in the UK, may be considered.

In addition, sewage surveillance to track the spread of the virus is set to increase, with an additional 15 sites in London to begin sewage sampling this month and a similar number across England set to follow suit.

Dr Kathleen O’Reilly, an expert in polio at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said she welcomed the booster programme.

“News of the booster vaccine against polio will add extra protection to children under 10 in London where we now have considerable evidence of poliovirus circulation,” she said.

“The fact that polio has been detected in sewage gives us a critical opportunity to prevent polio disease – the sewage testing and vaccination response is a really worthwhile public health action that I hope will be highly effective.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×