Polio vaccine is offered to all children in London aged 1 to 9 after virus detected in sewage

The NHS will offer a booster or catch-up polio vaccine dose for children aged 1 to 9 years after poliovirus was detected in sewage in north and east London.

The type 2 vaccine derived poliovirus (PV2) was detected in the boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that children in these areas and where vaccination rates are low be prioritised in the vaccine rollout to ensure a high level of protection from paralysis and help reduce further spread of the virus.

Type 2 poliovirus was detected earlier this year at the …