To cancel coming to London due to measles

I’ve just come back from a family trip to London (visiting the Natural History Museum). My older ds loved it so we’ll be going back soon. However, my baby is 8 months and hasn’t had the vaccination yet so I’ll be waiting until she has the jab to go back now.

I’m not being hysterical about it or anything, but I don’t mind postponing the trip by a month or two (by which time my baby will be vaccinated) to avoid brining my unvaccinated baby to a heavily populated area with a measles outbreak. Yes, I’m hearing these are localised cases in the suburbs and in deprived areas- I don’t care tbh, are people saying that people from those areas just remain where they are and don’t travel elsewhere near London?

I’m not saying that people local to the area should self isolate or anything ridiculous like that. But I just don’t want to make an unnecessary trip if I don’t have to. I’d rather wait until my baby has protection from the jab.

I’m sure he’d be ok. But, I understand you must worry given what he’s been through x

Your DC are vaccinated, if they weren’t then measles would be a risk anywhere.

I find these threads bewildering as a Londoner. I’ve lived all over the place and never felt safer than in London. I’ve never been robbed, attacked or had any kind of nasty infection. There is a problem nationwide with vaccination take up - and a few areas of London with particular low rates have had an outbreak. But even if you hung out in a soft play in those areas, the chances are tiny even if you weren’t vaccinated. Let alone for those of us who are. When you read about these cases you have to remember this is a tiny number compared to the huge number of people who live here. London is incredibly safe as a place.

London isn’t like other cities. A small outbreak in a residential area is a drop in the ocean. 10 million people live here and 60,000 visitors come every day. Your kid won’t get measles.

You’ll be mixing with tourists from all over the world at NHM who will have travelled through busy airports. I think measels in north London play a very minor part in the risk of exposure.

I completely agree with you about Birmingham. Most of this is reheated racism and absolutely disgraceful.

That’s fair. It just pisses me off that people feel comfortable about being so fastidious about going to big cities in general and so dismissive and rude.

Its flavour of the month at the moment to diss London. Birmingham had its turn recently because of Jenrick’s racist outburst (and God knows Birmingham has its problems but to spread that kind of rhetoric about a large, diverse city is so irresponsible).

Its all unpleasant, small minded and backwards. Not saying this OP is intending this as such but people need to think critically and employ a bit of common sense before they position our large cities as huge slums.

I'll agree that there's a real backlast against London from the far right.

But it's not just London, it's just that you're hearing a lot of that because you live there. I live somewhat near Birmingham and the rhetoric around that is insane; it's already under Sharia Law, it's unsafe, there's no white people, nobody goes out after dark. It's insane.

It's a localised attack on people and places, just like it was with Brexit. Advertise the anti-cat stuff to the people who hate cats. The anti-London stuff to people who are already feeling far removed from the Capital one way or another. Divide everyone.

I wouldn't worry about the measles.

I wouldn't go to the NHM in half-term with a 5 year old and a 3 year old, though. It was absolute bedlam yesterday. Someone was having wedding photos taken in the middle, there was an insane amount of tourists, and people sheltering from the rain. It couldn't have been any busier. You get swept along in a sea of people so you can't fully see anything and my four year old has asked to go back when it's less busy because he doesn't feel like he saw much.

I've never seen it as bad as it was.

Yes we recently had a friend cancel a trip to visit because they were afraid of the risk of a terrorist attack.

London is very safe, unless you are in a gang.

If you are visiting the NHM you will be exposed to thousands of people from all over the world. That some people elsewhere in London have measles is the least of your ‘possible infection’ risk.

And OP - I have small children and take them to the NHM and others regularly, no serious diseases yet. Their nursery on the other hand…

Clearly you've never heard how Glasgow is described in Scotland.
At 1 point it held the title of knife crime capital of the world (yes i know that its not a capital city thats just the title). It's now known as the drugs capital of Scotland and still has some of the highest knife crimes in the UK

Because the far right has done a real number on people trying to persuade everyone that London is the new Aleppo or Khartoum.

You will get stabbed as soon as you step off the train
London is a “sewer” (read on here many times). Our mayor is trying to implement sharia law, apparently. We’re all addicted to crack.

Oh but we are also peopled by the “Metropolitan Elite” and full of woke lefties. They can’t make their minds up.

But people feel able to say things like this with impunity in a way they would not dream of doing about Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow, Hartlepool, Bath etc. Its offensive and childish and people who haven’t been to London in decades need to come here and see for themselves before spouting off about it.

Most of the people in the NHM on any given day are tourists, many not even from the UK, let alone other parts of London. So there’s no difference in your risk at all. I understand why the talk of measles has frightened you - I have a family member left very disabled by measles as a child - but you need to retain perspective.

If it’s not the fear of stabbings it’s now apparently the fear of measles. The chances of experiencing either as a visitor rather than say a gang member or a child living in a deprived community are SO tiny.

Exactly this, and in Kensington and Chelsea no less, one of the richest areas of the city and in half term likely to be full of tourists and visitors.

There was a similar thread about not coming to London because of bedbugs on tube the other day. Why are some people from the rest of the UK so scared of the capital? Do they talk about Birmingham and Manchester in the same way?

Of course not. Your child is vaccinated. Live your life the same as you did before you read the article.

Come on now. A trip to the natural history museum is a great day out. Millions of people live in London and a tiny tiny percent of them have measles. Your child is vaccinated. Go and enjoy.

“It also really pisses me off that people now feel empowered to talk about a trip to London in this way, as if it was a war zone”.

Yep this. If it’s not the fear of stabbings it’s now apparently the fear of measles. The chances of experiencing either as a visitor rather than say a gang member or a child living in a deprived community are SO tiny.

Sorry but this is absolutely ridiculous. London is a city of around 8 million people. The measles outbreak is concerning but it’s occurring in a small, fairly deprived area a long way outside central London which you would have to go out of your way to go to. Your children are vaccinated anyway. Their risk of contracting measles is roughly that of being hit by an off target asteroid.

Your ability to assess risk needs some major recalibration if you think seriously that this is a risk to your children. It also really pisses me off that people now feel empowered to talk about a trip to London in this way, as if it was a war zone.

If your fully vaccinated you shouldn't be a carrier ie you cant catch it and pass it on

I am in central London now. People of all ages milling around. I mean to minimise your risk, you could stay home and only leave for school, work and emergencies. But that would be a rather boring existence I think.

Don’t be so ridiculous

To put it in perspective we live in the next borough, our kids are the same age as yours and today we went on the bus to a busy part of that borough, changed to the train that goes through the whole borough, and went further in to London. And the same in return. We are not worried at all, and there are thousands of others in a similar situation.
I think the cases are more likely to spread at school where they are all together the whole day than in a museum where you pass by so many people.

I'm more bothered by the incessant colds they keep bringing home and giving to me, one after the other at the moment.

You know that millions of people live in London, right? Parents with babies aren't moving out in their thousands to avoid measles in a very small area of their huge city!
They live there 24/7. You're just going for the day, to a place far from that area.

I'm trying to be reassuring rather than mean, but come on now. Give it some thought and get your risk assessment back on track, and have a lovely day!

I think you will be fine. The second is just a booster, the first dose offers around 95% protection. My DD school had one measles case a little while ago, no other known cases occurred

No measles here and I work in a london school.